Social media communication apps may soon be regulated by DoT: Report

Misinformation travels so fast on apps that it soon becomes uncontrollable, a senior DoT official said

Social media apps for communication, such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal, may soon be regulated by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), considering 'misuse' and security issues.

The DoT is likely to consult with ministries of electronics & IT and information and broadcasting over this matter. It will seek views from telecom regulators as well, according to a report by The Economic Times.

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"Regulating apps is now necessary, as technology has changed to a point wherein their misuse can be disastrous for the country. Currently, we don’t have a mechanism to control or stop something that is creating havoc on social media. We should be able to control and analyse real-time, so misinformation or other things can be stopped," a senior DoT official told the publication.

DH was unable to independently verify the report.

The contention between the government and WhatsApp over its end-to-end encryption policy has been ongoing for some time. While intermediary rules prescribe that apps have to provide information asked by law enforcement agencies, apps have expressed their inability to do so citing individuals' privacy.