India has proposed appointing a government panel to hear complaints from users about content moderation decisions but has also proposed it is open to the idea of a self-regulatory body if the industry is willing.
However, the lack of agreement among the tech giants increases the likelihood that a government panel will be established, a possibility that Meta Platforms Inc.'s Facebook and Twitter are keen to avoid because they worry about regulatory and governmental overreach in India, source said.
An executive from Alphabet Inc.'s Google told other delegates at a closed-door meeting this week that the business was dubious of the benefits of a self-regulatory body. The executive was quoted as adding that the body would entail external assessments of judgments that would compel Google to reinstate information, even if it contravened Google's internal regulations.
The Google executive was also reported as stating that such directions from a self-regulatory organisation may create a risky precedent. The sources declined to be named since the conversations were confidential.
Representatives from Snap Inc. and the well-known Indian social media platform ShareChat attended the conference in addition to Facebook, Twitter, and Google. In India, the companies collectively have hundreds of millions of users. Snap and ShareChat have also expressed worry about a self-regulatory system, stating that it needed considerably more dialogue, including with civil society.
In a statement, Google said it had participated in an initial discussion and was speaking with both the government and the business community. It also said it was "exploring all options" to find the "optimal solution." Facebook and ShareChat both declined to respond. Reuters' inquiries for comment from the other companies were not entertained.
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