Facebook, Google, Twitter Face Increased Pressure From EU Over User Terms

European Union authorities have increased pressure on Facebook, Google and Twitter to amend their user terms to bring them in line with EU law after proposals submitted by the tech giants were considered insufficient.

The European Commission and consumer protection authorities in the bloc wrote to the three companies in June, asking them to improve their proposed changes to user terms by the end of September, according to letters sent to the companies and seen by Reuters on Monday.

The authorities have the power to issue fines if the companies fail to comply.

Representatives of Facebook and Twitter did not respond immediately to emailed requests for comment and a Google spokesman declined to make immediate comment.

The authorities' concerns centre mainly on procedures the social media companies proposed to set up for the removal of illegal content on their websites, terms limiting their liability and terms allowing them unilaterally to remove content posted by users.

The US trio were given until July 20 to submit new proposals, which need to be implemented by the end of September, the letters said.

A person familiar with the matter said that two of the companies had submitted amended proposals, while a third had asked for more time, declining to specify which one.

The companies had first proposed changes to their terms and conditions in March to assuage the regulators' concerns in March. The sticking points were terms such as those that forced European consumers to seek redress in California, where the companies are based, instead of the consumer's home country.

US technology companies have faced tight scrutiny in Europe for the way they do business, from privacy issues to how quickly they remove illegal or threatening content.

The authorities and the Commission asked the companies to provide more detail on the timeframe and deadlines they would apply to dealing with notifications of content deemed illegal under consumer law, as well as dedicating a page or email address to notifications from consumer authorities.

In addition, the bodies are pressing for a procedure whereby consumers would be notified before their content is removed or given an opportunity to challenge it.

In the case of Alphabet's Google unit, the concerns were about its social network Google+.

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Is Kapil Sharma’s show coming to an end? Kiku Sharda has the answer

Kiku Sharda, who is also a prominent part of The Kapil Sharma Show, has the answer to your questions.Ace comedian Kapil Sharma is trying hard to spell magic on the audiences with his popular show The Kapil Sharma show but seems like things are not in his favour. After he couldn’t shoot some episodes due to his deteriorating health, it was being said that TKSS will soon go off air. Now, comedian Kiku Sharda has reacted to the reports and stated that Kapil’s absence from the show owing to his health issues have ignited such rumours.

Speculations were rife from quite some time that the channel has not renewed the contract of the show because of low TRPs and Kapil’s ill health and it has another reality show to replace TKSS. There were chances that Super dancer, which did well on the small screen may come up with its new season. When Kiku was asked about these rumours, he revealed to an entertainment portal that all these are fake reports and he didn’t want to comment on that informing that the team has started shooting for coming weekend.

On being asked of Kapil is suffering from depression, Kiku stated that these talks are rubbish and people are saying things that they feel.The TRP of TKSS slipped to no. 14 this week. After SRK left TKSS without shooting because of Kapil illness, another such incident happened when the star cast of Mubarakan couldn’t shoot for the episode after waiting for almost four hours. Rumours started doing rounds that Kapil is battling depression. However, Kiku has now made things clear and this is surely a great news for all TKSS fans. 

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25,000 evacuated after flood fury hits Gujarat, Rajasthan; Army joins rescue efforts

Torrential rains continued to lash several parts of Gujarat, following which around 25,000 people have been evacuated to safety during the last two days. A high alert has been sounded as more than 20 highways of the state got submerged...Torrential rains continued to lash several parts of Gujarat, following which around 25,000 people have been evacuated to safety during the last two days. A high alert has been sounded as more than 20 highways of the state got submerged.

The flooding has affected Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Anand, Patan and parts of Valsad districts in Gujarat. Around 11,000 people have been evacuated in Banaskantha district alone. 

In an upside, the water level receded on Monday after which traffic movement was restored on the Ahmedabad-Rajkot and Kutch-Morbi National Highways. However, 19 state highways as well as 102 internal roads in various parts of state are still closed due to waterlogging.

A dozen teams of NDRF have been stationed in various parts of North Gujarat and Saurashtra. Personnel from the Army and the BSF have been also been deployed. Six more teams have also been sent to the affected areas.

Gujarat has so far received almost 56.61 per cent of the total expected rainfall. The arid Kutch region received maximum rainfall of 73.61 per cent, followed by Saurashtra (70.74), North (55.57), South (50.01) and East-Central (43.20 per cent).

Vadgam, Dhanera, Amirgadh, Palanpur and Dantiwada taluka of Banskantha district received rainfall of 97 mm, 91 mm, 83 mm, 68 mm and 61 mm respectively. 

These places were followed by Umergam of Valsad (58mm), Deodar of Banaskantha (55 mm), Kaprada of Valsad (53 mm), Idar of Sabarkantha (52 mm), Tharad of Banaskantha (50 mm), Poshina of Sabarkantha (50mm), Siddhpur of Patan (48mm) and Vijaynagar of Sabarkantha (47mm). 

The MeT Centre here predicted that heavy to very heavy rain would occur at several places in Gujarat during the next two days. It also warned of extremely heavy rain at some places in Banskantha, Sabarkantha, Patan and Mehsana districts tomorrow.

Meanwhile, copious rains caused floods in adjoining Rajasthan leaving thousands of people marooned. 

A woman and her daughter were killed when the jeep they were travelling in was washed away by strong currents over a bridge across a canal in Kherwada police station limits in Udaipur in Rajasthan where downpour has resulted in inundation in Jalore, Pali and Sirohi districts.

Army and Air Force contingents have been rushed in to assist in relief and rescue operations. Four MI-17V5 helicopters were conducting sorties from bases in Jamnagar, Jodhpur and Phalodi. The road and rail network has also been affected in the region.

Incessant rain has thrown normal life out of gear in several areas in the three districts of otherwise parched Rajasthan, hitting road and rail transport. Two trains were terminated in Jodhpur Railway Division following waterlogging on Bhiladi-Samdari section.

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Microsoft Says MS Paint Isn't Going Away, Will Be Optional Windows Store Download

Microsoft recently released a list of features that are either removed or deprecated with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update and the company received a huge backlash online for including everybody's beloved MS Paint in this list. However, the company has now clarified that it is not killing off MS Paint app with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

In a statement provided to MSPoweruser, Microsoft has clarified that it is not "killing" Microsoft Paint and will rather be bringing the app to the Windows Store as an optional download. As the MS Paint app was mentioned in the deprecated column in the released list, it was earlier assumed that the app will not be in active development and will likely be removed from future releases.

Microsoft said: "MS Paint is not going away. In addition to the new 3D capabilities, many of the MS Paint features people know and love like photo editing and 2D creation are in Paint 3D - the new app for creativity, available for free with the Windows 10 Creators update. In the future, we will offer MS Paint in the Windows Store also for free and continue to provide new updates and experiences to Paint 3D so people have the best creative tools all in one place."

The company even shared an image (top) that said "We love [indicated by heart symbol] MS Paint" to indicate the affection toward the classic app that has been an integral part of Windows since ages.

The Redmond-based company has also said that the functionality of the MS Paint app will be integrated to the company's Paint 3D app, which was introduced to Windows with April's Windows 10 Creators Update. Moving the classic MS Paint app to the Windows Store might be a possible move to promote the usage of company's 3D Paint app, which is a more advanced tool in comparison.

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Aadhaar vs WhatsApp: How privacy changes meaning for government in different cases

While Centre has argued in favour of privacy in the WhatsApp policy case, it has maintained that right to privacy is not a fundamental right but a common law right vis-a-vis the Aadhaar case. The Supreme Court will hear the Centre's argument on the right to privacy debate in the Aadhaar case on Tuesday.

In the Aadhaar case, the Centre has maintained that right to privacy is not a fundamental right but a common law right, and only unauthorised intrusion into one's privacy is protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.

This line of argument is in contrast to the government's stand in favour of privacy before the Supreme Court in the WhatsApp privacy policy case.

In a hearing on the WhatsApp privacy case on Friday, the Centre told the Supreme Court that data belonging to an individual is an extension of one's personality that resides in Article 21 of the Constitution.  

CENTRE ARGUES FOR PRIVACY IN WHATSAPP POLICY CASE

The Centre told the Supreme Court that data belonging to an individual was intimate and an extension of his or her personality.

"Data is an extension of my personality, footsteps of my life and intimate to me and resides in Article 21. Anything that can impinge on data, that is my own, impinges on my right," said Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha.

"If data is goods (product) and if it is, then in whom does the proprietary rights vest. Then how can I park it--either by contract or by commercial or without commercial consideration?" ASG Narasimha told the Supreme Court.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra is hearing the plea challenging WhatsApp privacy policy on the ground of violating right to privacy and allegedly sharing data with Facebook, which bought the messaging app in 2014.

The Centre also told the Supreme Court that there was a need to devise a mechanism to regulate online message service platforms.  

CENTRE SAYS OTHERWISE IN RIGHT TO PRIVACY DEBATE    

In contrast, the Centre has said that the petitions challenging the validity of the Aadhaar scheme over violation of right to privacy cannot be entertained under Article 21.

The Centre, in written submission to the court, said that only unauthorised intrusions into one's privacy are protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.

In its submission, the Centre has fallen back on two previous verdicts in the M P Sharma case in 1954 and the Kharak Singh case in 1963 which did not recognise right to privacy as a fundamental right.

A nine-judge Constitution bench, comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar, is hearing the right to privacy debate, while a smaller bench will subsequently hear the petitions challenging the Aadhaar scheme.

In the court, petitioners have argued for a broader definition of privacy with senior counsel Gopal Subramanium saying that fundamental ideas of liberty and freedom cannot exist without right to privacy.    

On Tuesday, Centre will present its arguments in the Supreme Court on the right to privacy case.

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Jio Phone at Effective Zero Price a 'Clever Marketing Position', Attempt to Avoid Levies: COAI

Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has termed the launch of JioPhone a "clever marketing" and said Jio selling the device at effective zero price is an attempt to save government levies like licence fee by the company. Reliance Jio's new 4G-enabled feature phone JioPhone at a fully refundable one-time payment of Rs. 1,500 will offer free voice calls to customers with unlimited data when they recharge their account for Rs. 24 onwards, whereas the full-month service will cost Rs. 153 only.

The JioPhone comes with 'unlimited' Internet data, capped at 500MB per day and access to various Jio services like JioTV, JioMovies, and more. Customers can even connect their JioPhone to a big screen TV using a Jio Phone to TV-Cable if they subscribe to the Rs. 309 Jio plan.

COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews said Jio's announcement is a bundled offer and the plan to sell the JioPhone at an "effective zero price" is a "clever marketing position" as the move will help the company save licence fees and other government levies.

"Previously, when you bundled handset along with services the 14 or 11 percent that an operator paid as licence fee got imposed on handsets. So as an operator one can't compete with a handset seller because handset seller is not required to pay this extra levy of 11-14 percent," Mathews said.

He said a bundled offer would have increased cost of providing service for operators.

"Reliance Jio offer is clever marketing position... they are saying the handset price is effectively zero. So no licence fee, spectrum usage charge has to be paid on that. Government will have to look at what sale of price for zero means," Mathews said.

Mathews termed Friday's JioPhone launch as "clearly a big win for Jio" that will put pressure on incumbent telecom operators as well as on handset makers to match the offer and cable service providers. Mathews, however, said this might have a bit of adverse impact for Jio as well.

"For existing (Jio) consumers who are already paying Rs. 303 and above, unless they want to spend additional Rs. 1,500, there is no impact. Of the 120 million customers, some of them might switch to this new plan. In such cases, there will be dilution for Jio from customers paying Rs. 303 moving to Rs. 153," Mathews said.

He said that with the JioPhone launch, data usage is expected to significantly increase.

"There will be a shift also from 2G to 4G. The whole game is going to shift again to high volume, low margin. If you go to that segment where device price was impediment from switching to 4G from 2G, clearly this helps them. But competition is not going to stay put," Mathews said.

He said handset manufacturers will have to scramble to compete with a Rs. 1,500 handset. A top official of a leading telecom company said it is too early to assess the impact of the JioPhone He said that customers may prefer to have choices rather than being "locked into" into a handset for three years.

Also, the offer at Rs.153 a month needs to be seen in the context of three years and whether the consumers are prepared to commit themselves to such an outgo on a monthly basis, he added.

At present, the average revenue from feature phone subscribers is up to Rs. 100 a month, said the official who did not wish to be named.

Mobile phone companies body Indian Cellular Association (ICA) termed the JioPhone launch as a disruptive move that will expand scope of 4G technology in the country.

"It is a very well crafted package to enable entry-level subscribers to step into the digital data revolution. This package will be a catalyst also for spreading 4G networks into the deeper hinterland," Indian Cellular Association National President Pankaj Mohindroo said.

Samco Securities CEO Jimeet Modi said that considering the size and scale of Reliance it will capture a lion's share of the market and therefore will disrupt many other ancillary businesses also.

"The bigger threat will be the dominance that the company will enjoy over many business processes which will be offered digitally... (It) will be a cause of concern from the country's point of view," Modi said.

He said that the bargaining power that the company will enjoy once the competition is marginalised would be immense which is good for the investors in their long term wealth creation journey but may not be appreciated by the government.

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Pakistan created terror groups to check India and Afghanistan, say former US diplomats

William Milam, a former US ambassador to Pakistan, said Pakistan has "no interest in a peaceful Afghanistan that would be under the influence of its arch enemy India and feels keenly the need for a proxy to protect its interests there."

“As for the Leshkar-e-Taiba, it is a reminder that Pakistan still sees India as its primary existential threat and still relies on proxies to keep India off balance.,” said William Milam

Pakistan created terror groups such as the Taliban, the Haqqani network and the Lashkar-e-Taiba to keep India “off balance” and protect Islamabad’s interests in war-torn Afghanistan, according to former US diplomats and officials. William Milam, a former US ambassador to Pakistan, and Philip Reiner, a former senior director for South Asia at the National Security Council during the Obama administration, said Pakistan’s notorious spy agency, the ISI, continues to protect and assist these groups, according to The Cipher Brief.

The online intelligence news and analysis portal on Thursday carried interviews and opinion pieces deciphering the “double game” of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Milan told the portal that Pakistan has “no interest in a peaceful Afghanistan that would be under the influence of its arch enemy India and feels keenly the need for a proxy to protect its interests there.”

“We know that Pakistan was present at the creation of the Taliban in the mid-1990s and gave them much support in their fight to take over the country. And we know that the Haqqani network, which is allied with the Afghan Taliban, has become a good substitute proxy,” he said.

Milam said the argument that the ISI supports hostile groups such as the Haqqani network, the Taliban, and the Lashkar-e-Taiba are generally believed by Western experts to be correct “but evidence for them is all highly-classified and held closely.”

“As for the Leshkar-e-Taiba, it is a reminder that Pakistan still sees India as its primary existential threat and still relies on proxies to keep India off balance.

“A virulently anti-Indian extremist organisation, Leshkar-e-Taiba serves as one proxy. Inside India, in the last several years, it has carried out very serious raids which appear to have had ISI help. (Could they have been rogue ISI units? We don’t know),” he said.

Milam was US ambassador to Pakistan from 1998 until 2001.

According to The Cipher Brief, despite denials from senior Pakistani officials, many experts agree that the ISI continues to protect and assist the three US-designated terrorist groups, as part of its strategy to keep Afghanistan unstable and advance its ambitions in the Kashmir region.

In an Op-ed for the portal, Reiner wrote that ISI’s role over time has included brutal suppression of anti-state rhetoric, fomenting insurgency, providing illicit channels for drug smuggling, acquiring nuclear weapons components, and developing proxy outfits to splinter domestic political parties.

“The primary argument made by Pakistani Generals is that due to historic and growing disparities with India in the conventional military balance, these proxy groups are essential for keeping India off-balance, as well as for ensuring that Afghanistan does not become a Western-aligned and India-dominated neighbour encircling the Pakistanis,” he wrote.

According to him, since 9/11, the ISI has assisted in taking down a number of al-Qaeda leaders, but it has at the same time allowed safe passage for other terrorists, permitting India-focused terror groups to remain active, and ensuring that the Afghan Taliban could regroup and become a more effective and equipped fighting force than ever before.

“The US has found Pakistan to be a partner and an adversary at the same time,” the former White House official said.

“Pakistan’s double game is clearly illustrated by the ISI and its role,” Reiner said.

According to Bennett Seftel, the deputy director of analysis at the online portal, the ISI exerts a strong grip on Pakistan’s national security apparatus. It pulls strings behind the scenes to dominate Pakistani’s foreign and domestic policies.

“Many Americans are wary of the ISI, accusing it of providing safe havens to the Haqqani network and Taliban, which are responsible for many US and allied deaths in Afghanistan,” Seftel said.

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