The government on Wednesday attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi over the massive data breach involving social media giant Facebook. Speaking to the reporters, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad, raised question on the role of Cambridge Analytica in Rahul Gandhi’s social media profile.
It must be noted that Facebook is currently facing the heat after Cambridge Analytica, a British consulting company was accused of harvesting data of more than 50 million users without any permission and using the data to help politicians such as US President Donald Trump.
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“Will Congress party depend on data theft and manipulation to win elections? What is the role of Cambridge Analytica in social media profile of Rahul Gandhi?” asked Ravi Shankar Prasad while attacking Rahul Gandhi and his party. He also warned Facebook that the government will not allow any attempt on social media to “influence India’s electoral process through undesirable means”. He also added, “We support the free exchange of ideas on social media but any attempt by social media including Facebook of trying to influence India’s electoral process through undesirable means will not be tolerated. Let Facebook note it very clearly.”
The minister further pointed to earlier reports which suggested of the use of bots allegedly to artificially increase Rahul Gandhi’s social media following, asking “how much data of Indians have the Congress party shared with foreign firms like Cambridge Analytica. This is not just a question of Congress Party’s association with a rogue data analysis firm but it is a question of free and fair elections in India and democratic values of our country.”
Currently, widespread protests are going on against Facebook demanding the boycott of the site over data theft. Hashtags like #DeleteFacebook and #BoycottFacebook have been trending on other social media platforms like Twitter.
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