44 India defends moves against social media




The government in India is defending1 itself against charges2 of Internet censorship3. The move comes after the government last week asked4 companies like Facebook and Twitter to block5 more than three hundred websites.

Officials accused6 the websites of posting edited images and videos of earthquake7 victims8. They said the websites falsely9 claimed10 that the images were Muslim victims caught11 in recent ethnic conflict in India’s northeastern12 Assam state and Burma.

 A number of the images13 were reportedly14 uploaded from Pakistan. Officials said the panic15 that resulted caused thousands16 of Hindu immigrants to flee17 the area.
They feared18 that Muslims19 would answer20 the false reports21 with attacks of their own. Lawyer22 Pawan Duggal says this is the first time23 Internet and mobile-phone24 technology have been used25 to create fear in a community.

He says India has to make cyber security26 the top concern27 for the nation. “Unfortunately28, India does not even have29 a national cyber-security policy30,” he says. And there is no plan31, should32 this kind of33 emergency happen again34.
Pawan Duggal also thinks India needs an army35 of its own36 cyber warriors37 .On Friday, India’s Communication and Information Technology Minister dismissed38 claims that the government is trying to censor39 social media.

But he did say misuse40 of social media has to be stopped41. Pranesh Prakash is with the Center for Internet and Society based in Bangalore. He says some of the web pages42 that have been blocked include official news websites43.

He says the current case44 appears45 to call for some action46. But he thinks the government has gone too far47. He says the effort48 is limiting good news reporting.

Pranesh Prakash also says some of the websites were uploaded by people trying to let others know49 that the images were false. The government in India has called on social media companies to come up with50 a plan to keep51 offensive material off the web52.

Last year, it passed a law53 that requires54 companies to remove so-called55 “objectionable56 content57” when requested58 to do so. A Google report says that, last year, India topped the list59 of countries that make such60 requests.

Supporters61 of online freedom62 have expressed concern that India may be63 restricting use of the Web. About64 100 million people in India use the Internet — that is third65 most in the world. For VOA Learning English, I’m Laurel Bowman. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 27Aug2012)

 Vocabulary
  1. Defending = defendendo-se
  2. against charges =contra acusações
  3. censorship = censura
  4. asked = pediu
  5. block = bloquear
  6. accused = acusaram
  7. earthquake = terremoto
  8. victims = vítimas
  9. falsely = falsamente
  10. claimed = afirmaram
  11. caught = apanhados, pegos
  12. northeastern = do nordeste
  13. A number of the images = uma série de imagens
  14. Reportedly = supostamente
  15. Panic = panico
  16. Thousands = milhares
  17. Flee = fugir
  18. Feared = temiam
  19. Muslims = muçulmanos
  20. would answer = responderiam
  21. false reports  = falsos relatos
  22. Lawyer = avogado
  23. the first time = a primeira vez
  24. mobile-phone = telephone cellular
  25. have been used = tem sido usada
  26. cyber security = segurança cibernética
  27. top concern = preocupação principal
  28. Unfortunately = infelizmente
  29. does not even have = nem sequer tem
  30. policy = diretriz, política
  31. there is no plan = não há nenhum plano
  32. should = caso
  33. kind of = tipo de
  34. happen again = aconteça novamente
  35. army = exército
  36. own = próprio
  37. warriors = guerreiros
  38. dismissed = desconsiderou
  39. trying to censor = tentando censurar
  40. misuse = mau uso
  41. has to be stopped = tem que ser interrompido
  42. web pages = páginas da internet
  43. news websites = sites de notícias
  44. current case = caso atual
  45. appears = parece
  46. to call for some action = pedir por alguma ação
  47. has gone too far = tem ido longe demais
  48. effort = esforço
  49. to let others know = informar outros
  50. to come up with = criar, desenvolver
  51. keep = manter
  52. off the web = fora da internet
  53. passed a law = aprovou uma lei
  54. requires = exige
  55. so-called = assim chamado
  56. objectionable = censurável
  57. content = conteúdo
  58. requested = solicitado
  59. topped the list = chegou ao topo da lista
  60. such = tais
  61. Supporters = defensores
  62. Freedom = liberdade
  63. may be = pode ser
  64. About = Aproximadamente
  65. Third = terceiro