#FactCheck - Virat Kohli's Ganesh Chaturthi Video Falsely Linked to Ram Mandir Inauguration

Introduction

According to a draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, the Indian government may have the authority to reduce the age at which users can agree to data processing to 14 years. Companies requesting consent to process children’s data, on the other hand, must demonstrate that the information is handled in a “verifiably safe” manner.

The Central Government might change the age limit for consent

The proposed Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022 in India attempts to protect child’s personal data under the age of 14 through several provisions. The proposed lower age of consent in India under the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022 is to loosen relevant norms and fulfil the demands of Internet corporations. After a year, the government may reconsider the definition of a child with the goal of expanding coverage to children under the age of 14. The proposed shift in the age of consent has elicited varied views, with some experts suggesting that it might potentially expose children to data processing concerns.

The definition of a child is understood to have been amended in the data protection Bill, which is anticipated to be submitted in Parliament’s Monsoon session, to an “individual who has not completed the age of eighteen years or such lower age as the central government may notify.” A child was defined as an “individual who has not completed eighteen years of age” in the 2022 draft.

Under deemed consent, the government has also added the 'legitimate business interest' clause

This clause allows businesses to process personal data without obtaining explicit consent if it is required for their legitimate business interests. The measure recognises that corporations have legitimate objectives, such as innovation, that can be pursued without jeopardising privacy.‍

Change in Data Protection Boards

The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022, India’s new plan to secure personal data, represents a significant shift in strategy by emphasising outcomes rather than legislative compliance. This amendment will strengthen the Data Protection Board’s position, as its judgments on noncompliance complaints will establish India’s first systematic jurisprudence on data protection. The Cabinet has approved the bill and may be introduced in Parliament in the Monsoon session starting on July 20.

The draft law leaves the selection of the Data Protection Board’s chairperson and members solely to the discretion of the central government, making it a central government set-up board. The government retains control over the board’s composition, terms of service, and so on. The bill does specify, however, that the Data Protection Board would be completely independent and will have a strictly adjudicatory procedure to adjudicate data breaches. It has the same status as a civil court, and its rulings can be appealed.

India's first regulatory body in Charge of preserving privacy

Some expected amendments to the law include a blacklist of countries to which Indian data cannot be transferred and fewer penalties for data breaches. The bill’s scope is limited to processing digital personal data within Indian territory, which means that any offline personal data and anything not digitised will be exempt from the legislation’s jurisdiction. Furthermore, the measure is silent on the governance of digital paper records.

Conclusion

The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022 is a much-needed piece of legislation that will replace India’s current data protection regime and assist in preserving individuals’ rights. Central Government is looking for a change in the age for consent from 18 to 14 years. The bill underlines the need for verifiable parental consent before processing a child’s personal data, including those under 18. This section seeks to ensure that parents or legal guardians have a say in the processing of their child’s personal data.

Introduction

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, CERT-In, is the national statutory agency that responds to Cybersecurity Incidents under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) of the Government of India. CERT-In and Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) have joined hands to develop a focused pool of Cybersecurity Leaders through the National Cyber Security Scholar Program (NCSSP). This National Cyber Security Scholar Program is to create a pool of credible and ethical cybersecurity leaders in the country who prioritise national cyber security in their professional endeavours. This program allows both organisations to jointly issue joint certifications for Cohort 6 of the National Cyber Security Scholar Program (NCSSP). This certification is provided to cybersecurity professionals who complete one of the world’s leading cybersecurity management programs.

About the Program

The National Cybersecurity Scholar (NCSS) is a comprehensive 18-week, 160-hour Instructor-led program for emerging cybersecurity leaders. The ISAC will conduct the program with CERT-IN and KDEM as knowledge partners. This Cyber Security Scholar program aims to provide an extraordinary opportunity, for scholars, to gain hands-on experience in real-world scenarios through activities such as war games. It will allow scholars to acquaint themselves with roles such as that of stakeholders,  including attackers, Security Operations Centre (SOC) teams, Forensicators, Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), and CEOs, and engage in tabletop exercises that simulate a cyber crisis. This program would allow scholars to understand how responses to cyber crises impact the financial performance of an organisation, including, stock prices and sales.  It offers a treasure trove of insights into the economic impact of cybersecurity decisions and the importance of proactive risk management. 

The program invites applications from various scholars including Mid to senior-level leaders, diplomats and diplomatic corps officers, mid to senior-level government officials involved in homeland and cybersecurity operations, experienced executives from Managed Security Services Providers (MSSPs), faculty members who specialise in new and emerging technologies, cybersecurity professionals in CII sectors and post-doctoral or research scholars in cybersecurity. 

CyberPeace Outlook

The National Cyber Security Scholar Program subsumes several key dimensions working towards building a resilient cybersecurity ecosystem for India.

1. The program focuses on skill development and enhancing scholars’ knowledge in domains of network security, ethical hacking, cyber forensics, incident response, malware analysis, and threat intelligence. 
2. The partnership between CERT-In and ISAC, government and Industry entities, ensures that scholars are exposed to different policy-level frameworks and technical expertise, offering a unique blend of perspectives that cater to the country's national security goals and industry best practices.
3. The scholar program encourages the development of new methodologies, tools, and frameworks that could be instrumental in tackling future cyber challenges and advancing India's position as a global leader in cybersecurity research and development. Research and innovation in cybersecurity are critical to the program.
4. It plays a significant role in providing opportunities for career development by further providing networking platforms with professionals, researchers, and thought leaders in the cybersecurity field, giving them exposure to internships, job placements, and further academic pursuits.

This program aims to support upskilling India’s broader cyber defence strategy through the creation of highly skilled professionals. The scholars are expected to contribute actively to national cybersecurity efforts, whether through roles in government, private sector, or academia, helping to create a more secure and resilient cyberspace. The National Cyber Security Scholar Program is a major advancement in strengthening cybersecurity resilience in India. In a digital world where cyber threats crossing boundaries, such programs are essential for maintaining our national security and economic stability.

References

• https://theprint.in/ani-press-releases/cert-in-and-isac-collaborate-to-develop-focussed-pool-of-cybersecurity-leaders-through-the-national-cyber-security-scholar-program-ncssp/2318021/ 
• https://isacfoundation.org/national-cyber-security-scholar/
• https://cyberversefoundation.org/national-cyber-security-scholar/ 

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Introduction

The spread of misinformation online has become a significant concern, with far-reaching social, political, economic and personal implications. The degree of vulnerability to misinformation differs from person to person, dependent on psychological elements such as personality traits, familial background and digital literacy combined with contextual factors like information source, repetition, emotional content and topic. How to reduce misinformation susceptibility in real-world environments where misinformation is regularly consumed on social media remains an open question. Inoculation theory has been proposed as a way to reduce susceptibility to misinformation by informing people about how they might be misinformed. Psychological inoculation campaigns on social media are effective at improving misinformation resilience at scale.

Prebunking has gained prominence as a means to preemptively build resilience against anticipated exposure to misinformation. This approach, grounded in Inoculation Theory, allows people to analyse and avoid manipulation without prior knowledge of specific misleading content by helping them build generalised resilience. We may draw a parallel here with broad spectrum antibiotics that can be used to fight infections and protect the body against symptoms before one is able to identify the particular pathogen at play.

Inoculation Theory and Prebunking

Inoculation theory is a promising approach to combat misinformation in the digital age. It involves exposing individuals to weakened forms of misinformation before encountering the actual false information. This helps develop resistance and critical thinking skills to identify and counter deceptive content. 

Inoculation theory has been established as a robust framework for countering unwanted persuasion and can be applied within the modern context of online misinformation:

1. Preemptive Inoculation:  Preemptive inoculation entails exposing people to weaker kinds of misinformation before they encounter genuine erroneous information. Individuals can build resistance and critical thinking abilities by being exposed to typical misinformation methods and strategies.
2. Technique/logic based Inoculation: Individuals can educate themselves about typical manipulative strategies used in online misinformation, which could be emotionally manipulative language, conspiratorial reasoning, trolling and logical fallacies. Learning to recognise these tactics as indicators of misinformation is an important first step to being able to recognise and reject the same. Through logical reasoning, individuals can recognize such tactics for what they are: attempts to distort the facts or spread misleading information. Individuals who are equipped with the capacity to discern weak arguments and misleading methods may properly evaluate the reliability and validity of information they encounter on the Internet.
3. Educational Campaigns: Educational initiatives that increase awareness about misinformation, its consequences, and the tactics used to manipulate information can be useful inoculation tools. These programmes equip individuals with the knowledge and resources they need to distinguish between reputable and fraudulent sources, allowing them to navigate the online information landscape more successfully.
4. Interactive Games and Simulations: Online games and simulations, such as ‘Bad News,’ have been created as interactive aids to protect people from misinformation methods. These games immerse users in a virtual world where they may learn about the creation and spread of misinformation, increasing their awareness and critical thinking abilities.
5. Joint Efforts: Combining inoculation tactics with other anti-misinformation initiatives, such as accuracy primes, building resilience on social media platforms, and media literacy programmes, can improve the overall efficacy of our attempts to combat misinformation. Expert organisations and people can build a stronger defence against the spread of misleading information by using many actions at the same time.

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CyberPeace Policy Recommendations for Tech/Social Media Platforms

Implementation of the Inoculation Theory on social media platforms can be seen as an effective strategy point for building resilience among users and combating misinformation. Tech/social media platforms can develop interactive and engaging content in the form of educational prebunking videos, short animations, infographics, tip sheets, and misinformation simulations. These techniques can be deployed through online games, collaborations with influencers and trusted sources that help design and deploy targeted campaigns whilst also educating netizens about the usefulness of Inoculation Theory so that they can practice critical thinking. 

The approach will inspire self-monitoring amongst netizens so that people consume information mindfully. It is a powerful tool in the battle against misinformation because it not only seeks to prevent harm before it occurs, but also actively empowers the target audience. In other words, Inoculation Theory helps build people up, and takes them on a journey of transformation from ‘potential victim’ to ‘warrior’ in the battle against misinformation. Through awareness-building, this approach makes people more aware of their own vulnerabilities and attempts to exploit them so that they can be on the lookout while they read, watch, share and believe the content they receive online.

Widespread adoption of Inoculation Theory may well inspire systemic and technological change that goes beyond individual empowerment: these interventions on social media platforms can be utilized to advance digital tools and algorithms so that such interventions and their impact are amplified. Additionally, social media platforms can explore personalized inoculation strategies, and customized inoculation approaches for different audiences so as to be able to better serve more people. One such elegant solution for social media platforms can be to develop a dedicated prebunking strategy that identifies and targets specific themes and topics that could be potential vectors for misinformation and disinformation. This will come in handy, especially during sensitive and special times such as the ongoing elections where tools and strategies for ‘Election Prebunks’ could be transformational.

Conclusion

Applying Inoculation Theory in the modern context of misinformation can be an effective method of establishing resilience against misinformation, help in developing critical thinking and empower individuals to discern fact from fiction in the digital information landscape. The need of the hour is to prioritize extensive awareness campaigns that encourage critical thinking, educate people about manipulation tactics, and pre-emptively counter false narratives associated with information. Inoculation strategies can help people to build mental amour or mental defenses against malicious content and malintent that they may encounter in the future by learning about it in advance. As they say, forewarned is forearmed. 

References

• https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abo6254
• https://stratcomcoe.org/publications/download/Inoculation-theory-and-Misinformation-FINAL-digital-ISBN-ebbe8.pdf

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