A. GS 1 Related
GEOGRAPHY
1. Nascent Arabian Sea cyclone may delay monsoon arrival
B. GS 2 Related
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. HC asks A.P. govt. to reinstate Ramesh Kumar
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. U.K. moots ‘5G club’ to keep out Huawei
C. GS 3 Related
ECONOMY
1. GDP growth slows to a 11-year low of 4.2%, Q4 slumps to 3.1%
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. GMR told to stop dredging in Kakinada
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Trump’s executive order, targeting social media platforms
2. Anchoring ties with Canberra the virtual way
F. Tidbits
1. Locust surge may turn into global plague: expert
2. Tension unlikely to escalate, say former diplomats
3. Major Suman Gawani chosen for UN award
G. Prelims Facts
1. ‘Rozgar Setu’ for skilled workers in M.P.
2. Centre launches online skills training course
3. Law Minister rakes up SC’s NJAC verdict
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

E. Editorials

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Trump’s executive order, targeting social media platforms

Context

• President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting social media companies, days after Twitter called two of his tweets “potentially misleading.”

Social Media

• It is decentralised and democratic, which allows people to voice their opinion and influence the outcome.
• But they have also played a major role in genocides and election rigging.
  • It has also been misused to spread falsehoods and incite violence.
• Big tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple have given rise to concerns of privacy, data misuse, political bias, monopoly behaviour, tax avoidance and national security.

Accusation of Political Parties

• Republicans say social media platforms are anti-conservative.
• Democrats believe some of these platforms are easily manipulated by enemies of the nation and accuse them of unfair trade and labour practices, and call for breaking them up.
• Facebook’s attempt to launch a digital currency Libra has triggered sovereignty concerns among nations.
  • It had to pay $5 billion in fines to settle investigations into its misuse of data in the Cambridge Analytica controversy.

Platforms like twitter have often declared their commitment to stop fake news, but any attempt to enforce content regulation comes with additional complications, as Twitter’s attempt to fact-check the President shows.

What is an executive order?

• An executive order is a signed, written, and published directive from the President of the United States that manages operations of the federal government.
• Such orders are not legislations and don’t require the approval of the Congress, which also means that the Congress cannot overturn them.
• According to the American Bar Association, Congress may pass legislation that makes it difficult or impossible to carry out an executive order, such as removing funding.
• However, ultimately, only a sitting U.S, president can overturn an executive order by issuing another one to that effect.

What triggered the move?

The move comes after Twitter labelled two posts made by Trump about California’s vote-by-mail plans as fact-checked.

• As part of its new policy undertaken amid the Coronavirus pandemic, the platform has introduced labels and warning messages that aim to provide “additional context and information” on Tweets containing disputed, misleading or unverified claims related to the pandemic.
• However, the labels can also be used in situations where the risk of harm associated with a Tweet is less severe and people may be confused or misled by the content.

Communications Decency Act

• Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, tech companies currently enjoy broad immunity from civil lawsuits stemming from what users post because they are treated as “platforms” rather than “publishers”.
  • It, therefore, draws a distinction between platforms on the one hand and publishers or speakers on the other.
• Significantly, the Act also protects online platforms from civil liability, which means that they may not be liable for restricting access to certain content that platforms may consider being, “obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing or otherwise objectionable” and when such content is removed in “good faith”.
• However, the executive order says that when online platforms remove or restrict access to content, which are not based on the aforementioned criteria, or is in bad taste, it engages in editorial conduct and thereby becomes the “publisher” of all the content posted on its website.
  • Based on this, the order seeks to revoke the liability shield offered to platforms and exposes them to liability “like any traditional editor and publisher that is not an online provider.”

What are the implications of this order?

• The order can certainly give rise to a policy debate about the liabilities and responsibilities of social media platforms.
• Attempts to unilaterally erode the law threatens the future of online speech and Internet freedoms.
• This would mean that social media companies could be sued for defamatory content over what other people post on their platforms.
• The order could discourage companies from taking an active role in curating the content on their platforms and raise the risk and cost of doing business.

Revised IT intermediary guidelines

• The government is expected to notify the revised IT intermediary guidelines that seek to make social media companies more responsible for content on their platforms.
• The guidelines propose additional responsibilities on social media companies. These include verifying users through mobile numbers, tracing origin of messages required by a court order and building automated tools to identify child pornography and terror-related content. All these requirements come under the ambit of under due diligence.

2. Anchoring ties with Canberra the virtual way

Context

• India and Australia under the leadership of Prime Ministers of both the countries are preparing for a virtual summit.
• This will be India’s first virtual bilateral summit.

Possible Strategic Initiative

• This could involve the cooperative use of their respective island territories in the Indian Ocean for strategic purposes.
• India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Australia’s Cocos (Keeling) islands are well-positioned to offer significant advantages for both countries.

The strategic relationship between the two countries is currently underdeveloped, despite strong converging interests.

• One challenge in the relationship comes from differences in priority theatres, with India’s in Indian Ocean and Canberra’s in the Pacific.
• If New Delhi defines the Pacific as its secondary area of interest then for Canberra the Indian Ocean is its second sea.
• Capacity limitations on both sides mean there is a challenge in deploying resources in secondary areas of interests.

Importance of these Islands

• These islands are located near strategic chokepoints and trading routes, with the Andaman and Nicobar islands near the straits of Malacca, while the Cocos Islands lie in close proximity to the Indonesian straits of Sunda, Lombok, and Ombai-Wetar.
• Together, these straits are the entry and exit points between the Indian and the Pacific Oceans. In the current geopolitical competition in the Indo-Pacific, these islands can provide advantages for strategic, practical, and signalling purposes.
• Both India and Australia already use their islands for maritime surveillance and reconnaissance missions using P-8 aircraft based in southern India and Australia.
  • A joint coordinated effort utilising island territories through mutual access agreements would allow India and Australia to expand its presence and Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) missions beyond their respective individual capacities.
• These islands provide an opportunity for coordinated and joint anti-submarine warfare missions for both the Indian and the Pacific Oceans.

India-Australia collaboration thus sends a strong political message across the Indo-Pacific, sending a message of deepening strategic trust between two key players of the Indo-Pacific.

Convergence of interests

• India and Australia can perhaps begin by using the AUSINDEX as a platform for a coordinated patrolling.
• In addition, it may be prudent for New Delhi and Canberra to elevate the ‘two plus two’ format for talks from the Secretary level to the level of Foreign and Defence Ministers.
• This will allow both sides to test logistical and administrative challenges laying the foundation for more complex and sustained missions in the future.
• This would require political agreement at the highest level.

Mutual Logistics Support Agreement

• The upcoming summit will likely include the execution of a long-awaited mutual access and logistics facilities agreement similar to India’s existing arrangements with the US and France.
• This would enhance defence cooperation and ease the conduct of large-scale joint military exercises.

Note: We shall have an elaborate analysis of virtual summit after its conclusion.

F. Tidbits

1. Locust surge may turn into global plague: expert

• The Food and Agriculture Organisation’s senior officer has opined that the current upsurge in desert locust attacks could turn into a full-fledged global plague by the end of 2020 if it spreads to West Africa and the insects begin breeding there.

Scenario in India:

• A changing climate and the recent cyclonic activity have brought the locust swarms into India earlier than expected and driven them further east than usual.
• The swarms are unlikely to linger in the central Indian States or over large urban centres, and will return to the deserts of Rajasthan with the arrival of monsoon.

2. Tension unlikely to escalate, say former diplomats

• Former senior Indian officials have opined that the ongoing border tensions between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) are unlikely to escalate into a conflict.
• K. Narayanan, former National Security Adviser who has also served as the Special Representative on the boundary talks has stated that it is not right to view every border skirmish as the beginning of a war between the two nations.
• Narayanan said he was of the view that neither China nor India wanted conflict given the fact that both countries have by and large tried to follow the political parameters and guiding principles agreed to in 2005.
• Vijay Gokhale, former Foreign Secretary claims that communication between the leaders of India and China through the informal summits in Wuhan in 2018 and in Mahabalipuram in 2019 had helped build a certain degree of understanding and trust despite the strains in relations in 2017 during the Doklam stand-off.

3. Major Suman Gawani chosen for UN award

• Major Suman Gawani of the Indian Army, who served as a women peacekeeper with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in 2019, has been selected for the prestigious United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the year Award.
• As a military observer in UNMISS from November 2018 to December 2019, Major Gawani was the principal focal point of contact for gender issues for military observers in the mission.

G. Prelims Facts

1. ‘Rozgar Setu’ for skilled workers in M.P.

• Madhya Pradesh has announced the launch of the ‘Rozgar Setu’ scheme which would help secure employment for skilled workers who have returned to their native places from urban areas.
• Madhya Pradesh is the first state to devise such a work plan. The attempt is to provide work to the maximum number of returned skilled workers.
• This would fulfil the manpower requirement of industries as well as provide employment to workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Under the Centre’s ‘Swamitva yojana’ rural areas would be surveyed to help prepare land records. This would help prepare the land ownership records.

2. Centre launches online skills training course

• The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has started free online career skills training through its National Career Service project for job-seekers registered with it.
• About 1 crore job-seekers and 54,000 employers are registered on the National Career Service portal.

3. Law Minister rakes up SC’s NJAC verdict

• The 2015 Supreme Court ruling had quashed the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) in favour of the present Collegium system.
• The SC argument was that the proposed judicial commission of the NJAC in which the Law Minister was also a member, and therefore, the appointees from that office may not be fair and objective when litigation comes against them.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Which of the following statement/s is/are correct?

1. Dredging activity is a routine necessity in waterways for movement of ships and boats.
2. Dredging is also performed to reduce the exposure of fish, wildlife, and people to contaminants.

Options:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

See

Q2. The term “D10” club is associated with which of the following?

1. The group of countries working towards demilitarization of the Kurds inhabited region in West Asia.
2. The non-governmental grouping from 10 countries aiming to ensure that the Paris climate deal terms are successfully implemented.
3. The group of countries working towards ensuring the speedy development of COVID-19 vaccine.
4. A group of 10 democratic countries for partnership on 5G technology

See

Q3. The central government’s ‘Swamitva yojana’ deals with:

1. Empowering Panchayats
2. Rural land ownership records
3. Skill development programme
4. Refinancing MSMEs

See

Q4. Which of the following statement/s is/are incorrect with respect to the 
National Career Service project?

1. It is a project under the Ministry of Electronics.
2. It involves revamping the existing nation-wide set-up of Employment Exchanges into IT-enabled Career Centers.

Options:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

See

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. In the light of recent proposal in the U.S. for greater legislative and executive control over social media, examine the arguments both in favour of and against this proposal. (10 Marks, 150 Words).
2. India and Australia can collaborate on the strategic front to counterbalance China’s rise in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Elaborate.  (10 Marks, 150 Words).