WhatsApp warned users about fake messages in full-page ads last week.
As WhatsApp struggles to rein in an epidemic of fake messages that have triggered a spate of mob killings across India, the government today sent it a tough message. WhatsApp, which had responded to the string of violent killings with a move to label forwarded messages and take out full-page newspaper ads, must do more, the centre told the Facebook-owned instant messaging app.
It also warned the company that mediums used for propagation of rumours are liable to be treated as "abettors" and can face legal consequences if they remain "mute spectators".
Messages on WhatsApp like warnings about child abductors have incited mob-fury, triggering multiple cases of killings across the country.
"When rumours and fake news get propagated by mischief mongers, the medium used for such propagation cannot evade responsibility and accountability. If they remain mute spectators they are liable to be treated as abettors and thereafter face consequent legal action," the IT Ministry said in a statement today.
The ministry said it has approached WhatsApp to bring more effective solutions to the table, to ensure greater "accountability and facilitate enforcement of law" beyond the existing efforts towards labelling forwards and identifying fake news.
"It has been conveyed to them in unmistakable terms that it is a very serious issue which deserves a more sensitive response," the ministry said.
Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today told the Rajya Sabha that he will hold discussions with stakeholders, including political parties, to evolve a policy to deal with the misuse of social media.
Mr Prasad had earlier told WhatsApp that the platform "cannot evade accountability and responsibility".
In response, WhatsApp announced a new feature to let its users identify the messages that are forwarded.
The messaging service also brought out full-page advertisement in leading newspapers, first in the series of its user awareness campaign, giving "easy tips" to decide if information received is indeed true.
At the same time, WhatsApp had informed the Centre that fake news, misinformation and hoaxes can be checked by the government, civil society and technology companies "working together".
The messaging service had also said that it has the ability to prevent spam but since it cannot see the content of private messages, blocking can be done only based on user reports.
Rumours on WhatsApp have sparked off a spate of incidents involving mob fury, including one where five men were lynched on the suspicion of being child lifters in Maharashtra's Rainpada village of Dhule district. More recently, a man was beaten to death, while three others were injured after a mob attacked them suspecting them to be child-lifters, near Bidar in Karnataka.
The Supreme Court, earlier this week, asked parliament to consider enacting a new law to effectively deal with incidents of mob lynching, saying "horrendous acts of mobocracy" cannot be allowed to become a new norm.