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With the Government stepping up scrutiny of Internet postings, independent computer security consultant Ankit Fadia feels pre-screening of content is an impossible task and the best way out to block objectionable matter is constitution of a regulatory authority.
The 28-year-old ethical hacker, who has come out with his book How to Unblock Everything on the Internet , hopes the Government does not go the China way “which is employing 40,000 people just to block Web sites on a daily basis“.
“There are two issues over controlling content. First, if the Government wants to block or ban Web sites completely, then it is a step away from democracy because that is against freedom of speech and information,” Mr Fadia told PTI.
“Second, the government is saying that it wants Facebook, Twitter and Google to pre-screen content before these are posted online. From a technology point of view this is impossible because a huge amount of information is generated. There is also no software available that can understand what a photograph or a video mean and decide whether it is objectionable, legal or illegal. So I don’t think pre-screening is possible at all,” he says.
“As far as post-screening is concerned, if any offensive content is detected online, then the government and the social network should work together to remove the objectionable content.”
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