In Brief: Govt mulls social media content moderation rules; IRDAI to allow insurance cos use video-based KYC

Facebook’s hate speech controversy has sparked discussions on content moderation rules for social media platforms in India. According to a recent report by the Economic Times, government officials have begun preliminary talks about the country having its own guidelines on content moderation for these companies. The government is reportedly concerned about the methods practiced by such platforms despite them being covered as intermediaries under Section 79(2) of the I-T Act. Currently, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter employ their own guidelines to moderate content in India and follow the global standards set out by their parent companies, the report said. 

IRDAI will soon let insurance companies use video-based KYC

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) will soon allow insurance companies to use video-based authentication modes to vet customer credentials for new onboardings, Moneycontrol reported. Last week, IRDAI had sent a letter to insurance companies with details for a video-based identification process, the report said.

Read: RBI allows video-based KYC for digital verification

Google Pay tells Delhi HC that it has no access to Aadhaar database

Search engine giant Google’s India unit on Monday told the Delhi High Court that it has no access to the Aadhaar database. The company also denied needing any such information to operate its mobile app, GPay, according to a report by the Economic Times. This comes in response to recent public interest litigation (PIL) that alleged the platform had access to BHIM Aadhaar information. 

Healthcare startup Mfine raises capital 

Bengaluru-based Mfine, an online platform that allows users to connect with doctors, has bagged Rs 39.55 crore as a part of its ongoing Series B funding round. Caretech Pte, an entity owned by Mfine’s co-founders and others led the round, Entrackr reported. Mfine launched its Series B funding round in April last year. Singapore-based Caretech has invested Rs 18.5 crore for 16,314 Series B3 equity shares, along with Rs 3.05 lakh for 27 Series B3 CCPS, Entrackr revealed, citing regulatory filings. 

Zoomcar inks deal with  automotive distributor Pascos

Sequoia Capital-backed self-drive car rental startup Zoomcar has appointed automotive distributor Pascos, to distribute its cloud-based platform offering Zoomcar Mobility Services (ZMS) to commercial vehicles customers and government entities. This deal will help in the distribution of Zoomcar’s proprietary tech stack, according to a statement.