Govt used Google, FB for Digital India push
Last week, the government warned Facebook of strict action if it tried to influence next year’s general elections. But not so long ago, the Centre used Facebook and Google for its magnum opus Digital India initiative. Since the launch of the programme in 2014, the two US technology giants had played an important role in many aspects of the initiative. KARAN CHOUDHURY writes
The Indian government may have ‘unfriended’ Facebook last week after it warned the social media giant from interfering and influencing next year’s elections. However, not so long ago, it rode on Mark Zuckerberg’s firm as well as Google for its magnum opus Digital India initiative.
Since the launch of the programme in 2014, these two US technology giants have played an integral role in almost every aspect of the initiative. From educating people about the internet, connecting far-flung areas with high-speed net, promoting entrepreneurship, building start-up incubators, and women’s empowerment to even running a voter registration campaign, cyber security and counter-terrorism, Facebook and Google have done it all for the government.
How it all began
It all started after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the 'Digital India’ campaign in 2014, after which companies such as Facebook and Google started having meetings with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), and NITI Aayog.
Around the time of the announcement of the Digital India initiative, Google came up with its biggest programme ‘Next Billion User’ to catch hold of the next generation of users. Facebook also started floating the idea of internet for all ‘Internet.org’.
In 2015, when the PM went to the US for the first time, he visited all the major tech firms in the valley including Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, where he spoke at length about Digital India. Facebook went a step ahead and equated the programme and Internet.org, a faux pas it apologised for later.
Apart from those hiccups, Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had meetings with the PM whenever they visited India on official tours.
The talks were all centred around the Digital India initiative. How deeply involved are Facebook and Google in Digital India?
According to Google, in alignment with its global efforts of getting the next billion people online — many of whom are in India — it has outlined its focus and commitment to bring the internet alive everyone in India.
“We are highly focused on solving the needs of the next billion users who’re not online. This mission aligns very well, with the Indian government's vision of Digital India. A connected India with access to the whole web will help businesses grow, power education for the next generation, and create growth for the Indian economy. We aim to create access to the internet with initiatives, products, features and services that are unique and relevant to India,” the company said in reply to a questionnaire.
From bringing fast, high-quality internet access and products that perform even when there is low connectivity, making the web more accessible and useful for vernacular speakers, increasing internet usage among women in rural India and skill development for developers and small and medium businesses (SMBs) to enable a safe and secure digital payments experience are some of the key initiatives Google has been working on.
On the other hand, Facebook, after the failure of its Internet.org campaign in India, launched Express Wi-Fi, which is now commercially available through hot spots across the four Indian states of Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Meghalaya.
In partnership with Bharti Airtel, Facebook will launch an additional 20,000 hot spots as announced in May 2017 — allowing Express WiFi to reach more Indians who need super-fast and affordable connectivity.
While the Indian government is now worried about Indian users’ data being used by Facebook to influence elections, some time ago, Facebook collaborated with the Election Commission of India (ECI) and launched a nationwide voter registration campaign.
In 2017-18, Facebook also collaborated with the chief electoral officer of Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Nagaland to increase engagement and participation in the state elections. As part of this collaboration, Facebook promoted a reminder in people’s News Feed on the polling days to help educate people on the state elections and encourage them to take part.
Google has been working with the Indian Railways and RailTel on providing high-speed Wi-Fi at 400 train stations. The company has deployed it at over 300 stations, with around 7.7 million using it each month.
Its other programme ‘Internet Saathi,’ launched in partnership with Tata Trusts, is operational in 13 states. “Around 13.5 million women have benefitted from the programme and it is now active across 140,000 villages,” Google said.
There are hundreds of other initiatives on which two firms have been working closely with the government under the Digital India programme.
Why did the govt tie-up with these players?
According to industry experts, it was the easiest thing for the government to do — to use the resources, reach, and data that these companies possess — to kickstart its programme.
“It is very safe to use a Google or Facebook. Why would they tie up with small company? They have a lot of data which is updated,” said Asoke K Laha, president and CEO, Interra Information Technologies, also former national president of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC).
Facebook and Google keep their India investment figures under wraps and they run into billions of dollars, including the infrastructure and manpower they have set up in India.
Facebook and Google keep their India investment figures under wraps and they run into billions of dollars
Govt did not factor in the risk Experts say that in the rush to create a Digital India, the government did not anticipate the risks the data intermediaries pose to a nation.
“We have to understand these are all data intermediaries. It is but natural that they will use data in every manner. The digital India programme was primarily aimed to transform India into a digital society. That is why the government in the thought process tried to rely on these intermediaries. With these kinds of incidents it clearly shows that we are not prepared to deal with them. The IT Act is silent and India does not have a privacy law and a data protection law. We need to revisit intermediary liability and put them in far more rigorous compliances,” said Pavan Duggal, cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate.