Social media is connecting many people around the world. It also gave freedom for them to express their feeling in the pages. Those messages help to know about the fact of issues in the particular area. People trust the news which spread in the social media. So the information should be trustworthy and reliable. WhatsApp and Facebook are the frequently used by all age group people around the world. It allows all users to express their thoughts in the social pages with freedom. To create an account on the Facebook, the user should above thirteen-years-old.
Recently, WhatsApp is a leviathan in the social media platforms it attracts the user by keep on updating its feature according to the necessary of the users. According to the current report two hundred million users of WhatsApp only in India while Facebook has one hundred sixty-six million. WhatsApp gets a unique place in India among the other social media.
The main reason is the WhatsApp can access in the minimum net speed than the other social media. Few years before many organisation provides service with pay for the messages. The people need to spend amount to get recharge and also for the net the net package. When the WhatsApp arrives in India, it saved the money for spending message service. It magnetised them towards it by the features and less resource needed for it.
Properties of WhatsApp
WhatsApp provides many features like share photograph, video, GIF, contacts, live location sharing and message info. By using the live location sharing features, we can share the place at present where we are in? With whom we are in this location? It also asks for the duration that is how long in that location. Once the time ends, it sends the notification message to the user. This feature may help to find one another in the busy crowd.
Though it offers many features, group chat connects and hold the users together. It reduces the effort of an individual to send the messages to everyone. If we send a message to a group, we are not aware of whether the group members read the messages or not. In that case, the sender can tap and hold the message and select the message info icon on the top of the screen. It will display the message details like when the message delivered and who are all read the message along with the time. In the group chat, all the members of the group receive the same message at a time when the internet connection on-mode.
Those messages may be true or false, so the members in the groups should try understanding the real purpose of the message of the before forward to another person or groups. In WhatsApp, there is an option to make all the members of the group as administrator of the group. There may chance to send a wrong message in the group unconsciousness or mistakenly sent a message to another person instead of sending to your girlfriend. As giving an opportunity to correct the mistake, it introduces a unsent feature message. The users can revoke the message once forwarded to another person or in a group within five minutes.
Counterfeit posts on social media
Recently, there is some rumours, fake news, morphed images and videos went viral in the social media. This increase the pressure and tension to the related person. The information may be about the actor, actress, Government officials, business individuals and even common man. These types of posts are considered as offensive posts.
According to the joint order issued by the District Magistrate of Varanasi and the City’s police chief. They said that a FIR (First Investigation Report) against the group of the administrator if factually incorrect, misleading information, and rumours circulated on his/her social media pages. The joint order stated that there were several groups on social media which were named on newsgroups and also the other groups with other names propagating information and new which are not authentic.
This news was forwarded without cross checking by of the group member. The order stated that the group administrator ready to bear the responsibilities and ownership of the groups. The group admin should include the known person to his /her group. If any post circulated by one of the group, the administrator should note that post and remove the person from the group. If the group admin didn’t do it, then the action will be taken against the group admin. Such post must be reported to the police station so that the actions can be taken against the member under the law.
Case against Administrator of groups
A case under the cyber crime law, Information Technology Act and Indian Penal Code will be filled in the case of violation. While initiating the action against the admin, the orders of the high court and Supreme Court also to be considered, stated by the order.
Social media is a platform which allows the users to create a group on which members can share the photographs, views and videos. However, there is no law to govern these, the liability of the group administrator. In last year, a Delhi High Court order in December that administrators cannot be accountable for the post sent by another member of the group.
The primary cause for this order by an eighteen-year-old boy was arrested for the unproven forwarding an unaccepted message about Prophet Mohammed on WhatsApp in Varanasi. After a day, a shopkeeper was arrested by authorities issued order for administrator and members of the groups in social media like WhatsApp, Facebook, etc.., The Police stated that he got complaint about the shopkeeper was received, after checking the message and case registered against him under the IPC section 295 (outraging religious feelings). He was produced before a magistrate and sent to jail. He told the police that he got the message from another person resident in Lucknow. The police are tracking the message chain to find the creator of the message.
So, the members and the administrators of the groups on social media platform, when such post or rumour being circulated, the post must be circulated legally to the nearby police station. The individual will be under the radar. The case will be under that Cyber Crime Law, Information Technology Act and IPC be filled in the case of violation of these guidelines.
Conclusion
Due to the above-mentioned issues, the joint order charge by the Varanasi Government Officers to file FIR against the group administrator. In WhatsApp, there is an option that all the members of the group can be the administrator. In that case, there may chance to confusion occur to took over the responsibilities and the ownership of the group. So the members of the group should have the knowledge about the message which is shared in a group. If they come to known about that any fake news circulated in their group they have rights to warn the member who circulates it. If this happens again, then the admin can remove the person from the group. If admin IS inaction to do it, then the steps can take against the admin.
