Monitor content or face ban: Delhi HC warns Facebook, Google

The Indian government had come under severe criticism for asking Internet companies such asFacebook and Google to monitor content on their sites. Many labelled the move as an attempt to censor the Internet, triggering a heated debate - what should stay online and what should not. However, the Indian government maintained it did not intend to interfere with social media, nor it had any plans to evolve guidelines to regulate the Internet content. The Delhi High Court in its recent ruling has however taken government's earlier stance on the issue. The court not only asked Facebook and Google to remove 'offensive content' from their sites but also warned they may be blocked if they didn't comply to orders. The court further asked the companies to set up a mechanism to keep a check on such content on web page.

Mukul Rohtagi, counsel for Google India, acknowledged that some of the articles were obscene but the company could not control it. "No human interference is possible and, moreover, it can't be feasible to check such incidents. Billions of people across the globe post their articles on the website. Yes, they may be defamatory, obscene but cannot be checked," Mr Rohatgi was quoted as telling the court. "We cannot control billion minds. Some are conservative, some are liberal and some write all the defamatory and obnoxious articles on web pages."

Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Facebook India, told court that it was impossible to control the content with billions of people accessing the site. "A third party who uploads the content is not touched and we are sought to be liable in the case. Facebook India is not the controller of Facebook.com, it is Facebook.com which removes the content not me," he pointed out.

Many of us will agree that some online content can be termed as offensive. But it is quite next to impossible to monitor each and every individual on the Internet. And even if they are monitored, will it not be tantamount to 'censorship'? China has also similar control on the online content. Do you also back the Delhi HC directives? Let us know in the comments section below:

Get a Facebook girlfriend for just $5

Summary: Do you want a Facebook girlfriend? Do you want to risk $5 in the hopes this isn’t a scam or a hoax? If you answered yes to both these questions, then these ads on Fiverr are for you!

Those desperate to be seen with a girlfriend on Facebook will be interested to know that there apparently is a quick-and-easy solution. Aside from actually trying to get a girlfriend, you can head over to Fiverr, a website that allows people to sell various services for just $5. “Women” there want to sell their Facebook relationship status to you.

Twitter user Mark Luckie points to Fiverr user cathy01 (pictured top-left), who has an ad titled “I will be your girlfriend at facebook for 10 days for $5″ with the following description:

I’ll be your girlfriend on facebook for 10 days. I’m Cathy, a 23 year old student and I live in New York city. There’s a second option by the way: If you want a few messages (3 max.) on your profile to make somone jealous that’s also possible, just send me the message(s) and the facebook-link! byebye!x (I don’t! do any promotional stuff!

She’s got competition though. Fiverr user leite686 (pictured top-right) has an ad titled “I will be your facebook girlfriend for 7 days for $5″ with a slightly different description:

I can be your Facebook girlfriend for 7 days. My name is Victoria im a model and i have many talents such as singing acting and dancing you can choose from many of the pictures i have on facebook to be my default. To make anyone jealous i can post only up to 3* wallpost and 3* facebook inbox messages for 5.00 extra. You get one free wallpost letter or note with this purchase though.

At the time of writing, a quick search for “facebook girlfriend” on the site showed that there were 156 such ads on the site in total. Will these women just take your money and run or will they actually do what they say? Are those real pictures of said women or is there just a bot behind them making money for someone else?

A broader search for just “facebook” gave me 8,311 results, most of which are poorly written like the ones above, and offer sketchy deals in exchange for your money. I think a fair share of these just take your money and run, but most probably really do give you what you want, in the hopes that you’ll get hooked and come back for more.

In my eyes, most of these offers are part of a larger spamming business, but hey, if you really want to waste your money, I guess it is just $5. You may even get that fake girlfriend you want so badly!

I have contacted Facebook to see if the company is planning to look into these ads and will update you if I hear back.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg admires Amazon, Apple, Google

Summary: Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he admires Amazon, Apple, and Google. There’s a company missing from his list though: Microsoft. Are you surprised?

The Wall Street Journal recently interviewed Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg as well as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in separate interviews. While they were conducted in October 2011, excerpts from them have only been published now.

When Zuckerberg was asked about companies he looks up to, he named three. Here’s the relevant excerpt:

WSJ: What companies do you admire?
Zuckerberg: Amazon is a great recent example of focusing on the long term and accepting shorter margins on the short term. [Amazon CEO] Jeff [Bezos] went through years of people thinking he’s crazy. Apple is amazing in terms of the quality of stuff that they do. And Google, too, for the same thing.

WSJ: Do you place Facebook in the same category as those businesses?
Mr. Zuckerberg: I hope one day we will be. We’re a lot younger than all of them and still quite a bit smaller in terms of size of employees. Because we focused so much over the past five or six years on building things that are going to have lasting value for people, I think we have a good shot at that.

I agree with all three companies listed by Zuckerberg. Facebook has a long history with both Apple and Google, but barely anything to do with Amazon, so it’s nice to know that the company’s leader is paying attention to what is happening in the technology industry. In fact, Facebook has a poor history with both Apple and Google, though it is slowly rebuilding the one with the former (and not so much the latter).

It’s worth noting Zuckerberg skipped over Microsoft, which is a big investor in Facebook. The two companies are solid partners; just last year the duo launched multiple initiatives and new features. On the other hand, they are also competitors: Facebook is quickly gaining on Microsoft in terms of advertising market share.

Regardless of which companies Facebook competes or partners with, Zuckerberg can still have his own personal opinion. Sometimes it will influence his company’s decisions, and other times it will simply remain his own view. Are you surprised by his thoughts?