Net hegemony

Parminder Jeet Singh’s stand that it is for BRICS to mobilise itself and have a strong counter to the over-domineering American influence on cyberspace is a strategy that requires intelligent manoeuvring (“

>Who rules cyberspace ”, June 6). Data and its employment for the overall good of mankind may be an issue, but the same data involving sociopolitical information in the wrong hands can spell grave danger. To a lay observer it looks as though the matter needs to be handled by UN. If India can bring yoga to UN focus, I am sure that it can replicate the same move on the subject of Internet regulation.

P.R. Iyer,

Chennai

The fact that the Internet and social media can disrupt daily life and create chaos — something which does not need elaboration — points to the need for an alternative. Instead of using the BRICS route, India should focus on developing its own Internet base, or at least social media platforms like China has done, with Sina and Weibo. Of course there will be problems but this will reduce the fear of threats posed to us from foreign soil. For example, IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system which is India’s answer to GPS. If this could be done, why not develop an Indian Internet platform? A PPP-model with a technology giant like Infosys or TCS to build an indigenous social media platform would be a good start.

Shiva Prudhvi Ravula,

Warangal, Telangana