Social media can play with people's mind and change their perception: Police Research and Development Director AP Maheshwari

Social media has the power to play with the minds of people and management of perception through it is difficult to control, a senior police official said on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_4210045” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image.[/caption] In his address at the inaugural of two-day 46th All India Police Science Congress here, Bureau of Police Research and Development Director General A.P. Maheshwari said that social media has the power to make ingress into the human mind and practically control it. The theme of the session was “Social media and law enforcement”. Infosec Consortium CEO Jiten Jain brought out the relationship of new concepts like artificial intelligence and bots. He touched upon how organizations are using artificial intelligence for subverting public opinion and installing favourable governments. Data from social media is harvested using different applications and is used for marketing, while fake news is used to spread narratives with the help of these bots, he said. Delegates in the session raised issues for bringing out legal provisions to deal with challenges arising from social media. Former Central Bureau of Investigation Director Ashwini Kumar emphasized to give serious thought not only on deciding as to what does a case means for police but also for ensuring quality and prompt investigation of a case. He also called for separation of the police force into law and order and investigation wings. Discussion on crypto-currency and its challenges were also held. Forensic Services PwC Executive Director Krishna Sastry Pandyala said crypto-currencies are digital currencies that rely on the principles of cryptography to regulate the creation of the currency as well as the validation of transactions using this currency.