New Delhi, Feb 19 The Congress, on Thursday, accused the Union government of ordering the removal of nine AI-generated satirical videos from the party's social media accounts.
Accusing the Centre of hypocrisy and double standards, Congress Spokesperson and Chairperson of its social media and digital platforms, Supriya Shrinate, termed it an irony that the government "was resorting to gross abuse of power by misusing the provisions of the Information Technology Act and censoring the AI content at a time when it was holding the AI Summit".
While addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Shrinate claimed that nine AI-generated videos created by the Congress have been deleted over the last six weeks "at the instance of the Narendra Modi government and BJP-ruled state administrations".
The Congress Spokesperson said that orders were issued either by police authorities in BJP-ruled states, including Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, or by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
She claimed there is a lack of transparency on why a video is being taken down, with no public order and complete secrecy, making judicial challenges difficult.
Shrinate asserted that the videos prominently carried the "AI Generated Video" disclaimers, and were made as political satire and dramatised commentary on issues the Opposition has consistently raised in the Parliament and at public forums.
The Congress leader also contended that the newly proposed online censorship portal "Sahyog" empowers multiple government officials to issue "takedown directives", which she noted, amounted to expanding the executive control over digital speech.
"Now the bureaucrats will decide what the nation should and should not watch," she remarked.
She also raised concerns over the alleged mismanagement at the ongoing AI Summit being held in New Delhi, referring to logistical lapses, restrictions on equipment, and inadequate internet connectivity for participants.
Pointing out the contribution of former Prime Minister late Jawaharlal Nehru "who built institutions like the IITs and IIMs", Shrinate claimed that "global CEOs are the products of those institutions".
She also alleged that the police were trying to "threaten and intimidate" members of the Congress IT cell.
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