Facebook India head calls for global internet rules to increase trust in tech

Bengaluru: A national as well as global framework of internet rules is needed to increase trust in technology as the Covid-19 pandemic not only accelerates digitisation but also deepens the digital divide, said Facebook India head Ajit Mohan and Infosys co-founder S (Kris) Gopalakrishnan at Nasscom’s annual Technology and Leadership Forum on Friday.

Mohan said the framework must enable innovation, give users more control over their interaction while helping companies take tough calls on content. Gopalakrishnan said a national framework could formulate industry standards and set up sandboxes to test innovative ideas and their impact.

“The internet is reasonably young and a lot of early-stage innovation on the internet was categorized (with) not enough rules or not enough traffic lights. In the last few years, we have become more conscious that we now need to create a framework for the future,” said Mohan. “You don’t want a framework that stifles innovation at this early stage.”

He added that the government had a role to play in regulations as trade-offs are quite often complex and users do not want an individual company or a set of companies to make choices — for instance, if the choice is between free expression and safety.

Gopalakrishnan said India needs a framework for the ecosystem to increase trust in technology. It must balance profit and public good, address privacy and security on an ongoing basis, bring in transparency, accountability and governance and allow for complaint redressal, he added.

“We need to create standards which are created when industry comes together because we don’t have global regulatory agencies. These are then implemented at the national level and companies are audited for adherence to these standards,” Gopalakrishnan, who is chairman of Axilor Ventures, said.

India needs sandboxes to test new technologies, understand their consequences in small groups, and then roll them out, he added.

Stay on top of technology and startup news that matters. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest and must-read tech news, delivered straight to your inbox.