#FactCheck - Deepfake Alert: Virat Kohli's Alleged Betting App Endorsement Exposed

Introduction

With the advent of the internet, the world revealed the promise of boundless connection and the ability to bridge vast distances with a single click. However, as we wade through the complex layers of the digital age, we find ourselves facing a paradoxical realm where anonymity offers both liberation and a potential for unforeseen dangers. Omegle, a chat and video messaging platform, epitomizes this modern conundrum. Launched over a decade ago in 2009, it has burgeoned into a popular avenue for digital interaction, especially amidst the heightened need for human connection spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic's social distancing requirements. Yet, this seemingly benign tool of camaraderie, tragically, doubles as a contemporary incarnation of Pandora's box, unleashing untold risks upon the online privacy and security landscape. Omegle shuts down its operations permanently after 14 years of its service.

The Rise of Omegle 

The foundations of this nebulous virtual dominion can be traced back to the very architecture of Omegle. Introduced to the world as a simple, anonymous chat service, Omegle has since evolved, encapsulating the essence of unpredictable human interaction. Users enter this digital arena, often with the innocent desire to alleviate the pangs of isolation or simply to satiate curiosity; yet they remain blissfully unaware of the potential cybersecurity maelstrom that awaits them.

As we commence a thorough inquiry into the psyche of Omegle's vast user base, we observe a digital diaspora with staggering figures. The platform, in May 2022, counted 51.7 million unique visitors, a testament to its sprawling reach across the globe. Delve a bit deeper, and you will uncover that approximately 29.89% of these digital nomads originate from the United States. Others, in varying percentages, flock from India, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and Germany, revealing a vast, intricate mosaic of international engagement.

Such statistics beguile the uninformed observer with the lie of demographic diversity. Yet we must proceed with caution, for while the platform boasts an impressive 63.91% male patronage, we cannot overlook the notable surge in female participation, which has climbed to 36.09% during the pandemic era. More alarming still is the revelation, borne out of a BBC investigation in February 2021, that children as young as seven have trespassed into Omegle's adult sections—a section purportedly guarded by a minimum age limit of thirteen. How we must ask, has underage presence burgeoned on this platform? A sobering pointer finger towards the platform's inadvertent marketing on TikTok, where youthful influencers, with abandon, promote their Omegle exploits under the #omegle hashtag.

The Omegle Allure

Omegle's allure is further compounded by its array of chat opportunities. It flaunts an adult section awash with explicit content, a moderated chat section that, despite the platform's own admissions, remains imperfectly patrolled, and an unmoderated section, its entry pasted with forewarnings of an 18+ audience. Beyond these lies the college chat option, a seemingly exclusive territory that only admits individuals armed with a verified '.edu' email address.

The effervescent charm of Omegle's interface, however, belies its underlying treacheries. Herein lies a digital wilderness where online predators and nefarious entities prowl, emboldened by the absence of requisite registration protocols. No email address, no unique identifier—pestilence to any notion of accountability or safeguarding. Within this unchecked reality, the young and unwary stand vulnerable, a hapless game for exploitation. 

Threat to Users 

Venture even further into Omegle's data fiefdom, and the spectre of compromise looms larger. Users, particularly the youth, risk exposure to unsuitable content, and their naivety might lead to the inadvertent divulgence of personal information. Skulking behind the facade of connection, opportunities abound for coercion, blackmail, and stalking—perils rendered more potent as every video exchange and text can be captured, and recorded by an unseen adversary. The platform acts as a quasi-familiar confidante, all the while harvesting chat logs, cookies, IP addresses, and even sensory data, which, instead of being ephemeral, endure within Omegle's databases, readily handed to law enforcement and partnered entities under the guise of due diligence.

How to Combat the threat 

In mitigating these online gorgons, a multi-faceted approach is necessary. To thwart incursion into your digital footprint, adults, seeking the thrills of Omegle's roulette, would do well to cloak their activities with a Virtual Private Network (VPN), diligently pore over the privacy policy, deploy robust cybersecurity tools, and maintain an iron-clad reticence on personal disclosures. For children, the recommendation gravitates towards outright avoidance. There, a constellation of parental control mechanisms await the vigilant guardian, ready to shield their progeny from the internet's darker alcoves.

Conclusion 

In the final analysis, Omegle emerges as a microcosm of the greater web—a vast, paradoxical construct proffering solace and sociability, yet riddled with malevolent traps for the uninformed. As digital denizens, our traverse through this interconnected cosmos necessitates a relentless guarding of our private spheres and the sober acknowledgement that amidst the keystrokes and clicks, we must tread with caution lest we unseal the perils of this digital Pandora's box.

References:

https://www.business-standard.com/technology/tech-news/omegle-shuts-down-operations-permanently-after-14-years-of-its-service-123110900743_1.html

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Introduction

Personalised advertisements deploy a mechanism that derives from the collection of the user’s data. Although it allows for a more tailored user experience, one cannot ignore the method through which this is achieved. Recently, as per a report by the Indian Express on 13th November 2024, Meta has come up with a less personalised ad option on Facebook and Instagram for its users in the European Union (EU). This was done due to the incompatibility of their previous ad offer with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). 

Relevant Legislation

In October 2023, Meta came up with a “Pay or Consent” option for their users in the EU. It gave the users two options: either to pay a monthly subscription fee to avail of the ad-free usage variant of Facebook and Instagram, or to give consent to see personalised ads based on the user’s data. This consent model was introduced in their attempts to comply with the EU’s DMA. However, this was found to be incompatible with the said mandate, according to the EU regulators, as they believed that the users should not only have the option to consent to ads but also have access to less personalised but equivalent alternatives. It is this decision that pushed Meta to come up with less personalised ad options for users in the EU. The less-personalised ad option claims to rely on limited data and show ads that are only based on the context of what is being viewed i.e. during a Facebook or Instagram session requiring a minimum set of data points such as location, age, gender, and the user’s engagement with the ads. However, choosing this option also allows for such ads to be less skippable. 

The EU’s Digital Markets Act came into force on November 1, 2022. The purpose was to make the digital marketing sector fairer and in doing so, identify what they consider to be “Gatekeepers” (core platform services such as messenger services, search engines, and app stores) and a list of do’s and don’ts for them. One of them, applicable to the case mentioned above, is the effective consent required by the user in case the gatekeeper decides to target advertisements enabled by tracking the users' activity outside the gatekeeper's core platform services. 

The Indian Context

Although no such issues have been raised in India yet, it is imperative to know that in the Indian context, the DPDP (Digital Personal Data Protection) Act 2023 governs personal data regulation. This includes rules for Data Fiduciaries (those who, alone or in partnership with others, determine the means and purpose of processing personal data), the Data Principal (those who give data), Consent Managers, and even rules regarding processing data of children. 

CyberPeace Recommendations:

At the level of the user, one can take steps to ensure limited collection of personal data by following the mentioned steps: 

• Review Privacy Settings- Reviewing Privacy settings for one’s online accounts and devices is a healthy practice to avoid giving unnecessary information to third-party applications.
• Private Browsing- Browsing through private mode or incognito is encouraged, as it prevents websites from tracking your activity and personal data.
• Using Ad-blockers- Certain websites have a user option to block ads when the user first visits their page. Availing of this prevents spam advertisements from the respective websites.
• Using VPN- Using Virtual Private Networks enables users to hide their IP address and their data to be encrypted, preventing third-party actors from tracking the users' online activities
• Other steps include clearing cookies and cache data and using the location-sharing feature with care.

Conclusion

Meta’s compliance with the EU’s DMA signals that social media platforms cannot circumnavigate their way around rules. Balancing the services provided while respecting user privacy is of the utmost importance. The EU has set precedence for a system that respects this and can be used as an example to help set guidelines for how other countries can continue to deal with similar issues and set standards accordingly.

References

• https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/meta-less-personalised-ads-eu-regulatory-demands-9667266/
• https://rainmaker.co.in/blog/view/the-price-of-personalization-how-targeted-advertising-breaches-data-privacy-and-challenges-the-gdprs-shield
• https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/magazine-features/fines-data-protection-violations/
• https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2023/09/01/the-landscape-of-personalized-advertising-efficiency-versus-privacy/
• https://iapp.org/news/a/pay-or-consent-personalized-ads-the-rules-and-whats-next
• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/how-to/how-to-safeguard-privacy-in-the-era-of-personalised-ads/articleshow/102748711.cms?from=mdr
• https://www.business-standard.com/technology/tech-news/facebook-instagram-users-in-europe-can-opt-for-less-personalised-ads-124111201558_1.html
• https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/about-dma_en

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Introduction

The Supreme Court of India recently ruled that telecom companies cannot be debarred from reissuing the deactivated numbers to a new subscriber. Notably, such reallocation of deactivated numbers is allowed only after the expiration of the period of 90 days. The Apex Court of India also mentioned that it is the responsibility of the user to delete their associated data with their number or any WhatsApp account data to ensure privacy. The  Centre has recently also blocked 22 apps which were part of unlawful operations including betting and money laundering. Meanwhile, in the digital landscape, the Intervention of legislature and judiciary is playing a key role in framing policies or coming up with guidelines advocating for a true cyber-safe India.  The government initiatives are encouraging the responsible use of technologies and Internet-availed services. 

Supreme Court stated that  telecom companies cannot be barred from reissuing deactivated numbers

Taking note of a petition before the Supreme Court of India, seeking direction from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to instruct mobile service providers to stop issuing deactivated mobile numbers, the Apex Court dismissed it by stating that mobile service providers in India are allowed to allocate the deactivated numbers to new users or subscribers but only after 90 days from the deactivation of the number. 

A concern of Breach of Confidential Data

The Court further stated, “It is for the earlier subscriber to take adequate steps to ensure that privacy is maintained.” stating that it is the responsibility of the user to delete their WhatsApp account attached to the previous phone number and erase their data. The Court further added that users need to be aware of the Supreme Court ruling that once the number is deactivated for non-use and disconnection, it can not be reallocated before the expiry of the 90-day period of such deactivation. However, after the allotted time passes, such reallocation of numbers to a new user is allowed.   

MEITY issued blocking orders against 22 illegal betting apps & websites

The government of India has been very critical in safeguarding Indian cyberspace by banning and blocking various websites and apps that have been operating illegally by scamming/dupping people of huge sums of money and also committing cyber crimes like data breaches. In recent developments, the Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology (Meity), on November 5, 2023, banned 22 apps including Mahadev Book and Reddyannaprestopro. The Centre has taken this decision on recommendations from the Enforcement Directorate (ED). ED raids on the Mahadev book app in Chattisgarh also revealed unlawful operations. This investigation has been underway for the past few months by the ED.

Applicable laws to prevent money laundering and the power of government to block such websites and apps

On the other hand, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002 is a legislation already in place which aims to prevent and prosecute cases of money laundering. The government also has the power to block or recommend shutting down websites and apps under section 69A of the Information and Technology Act, 2000, under some specific condition as enumerated in the same.

Conclusion

In the evolving digital landscape, cyberspace covers several aspects while certain regulations or guidelines are required for smooth and secure functioning.  We sometimes change our phone numbers or deactivate them, hence, it is significantly important to delete the data associated with the phone number or any such social media account data attached to it. Hence, such a number is eligible for reallocation to a new or early subscriber after the expiration of a period of 90 days from such deactivation. On the other hand, the centre has also blocked the websites or apps that were found to be part of illegal operations including betting and money laundering. Users have also been advised not to misuse the Internet-availed services. Hence, trying to create a lawful and safe Internet environment for all. 

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References:

• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/cant-bar-telecom-companies-from-reissuing-deactivated-numbers-says-supreme-court/articleshow/104993401.cms
• https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1974901#:~:text=Ministry%20of%20Electronics%20and%20Information,including%20Mahadev%20Book%20and%20Reddyannaprestopro