WhatsApp is by far the most popular social network on the planet, but what many people don't know is that using it in an inappropriate way can have serious consequences. More precisely, in India WhatsApp group administrators can go to jail if they allow people to publish fake news in the groups.
The decision was taken by a judge in India, who in a recent decision mentioned the fact that all administrators of groups that allow the publication of fake news can be held accountable. Admins of WhatsApp groups in India have to exclude from the groups any kind of people who publish fake news in the groups, but who decides which news is fake?
200 million people use WhatsApp in India and there is no mechanism to decide which of the news published on the social network are true and which are false. Without such a mechanism, it is quite difficult to hold accountable the administrators of WhatsApp groups that allow the sharing of such information.
Despite this, there is a chance that some WhatsApp group administrators will be prosecuted because of this and this will set a dangerous precedent. If people will be prosecuted in India for allowing the distribution of fake news through WhatsApp, then surely other countries will act in the same way and abuses will start from here.
Unfortunately, fake news can cause a lot of harm in the whole world, and considering the size of the WhatsApp network, it is understandable why they are trying to stop the phenomenon.
"An Indian magistrate ruled yesterday that any information that is factually incorrect or misleading that is posted on a social media group could result in a report by the police against the group administrator. The order stipulates that group administrators must remove members responsible for offending posts from a group. If they fail to do so, action will be taken against them."
