Google launches its 'Safety Charter' in India: What is it?
What's the story
Google has launched its Safety Charter in India, its largest market outside the US.
The initiative is part of the tech giant's effort to scale up its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for fraud detection and scam prevention across the country.
The move comes as digital fraud cases in India continue to rise, with government data showing an 85% year-on-year increase in UPI-related fraud last year.
New initiative
Google opens GSec in India
As part of its commitment to cybersecurity, Google has also opened a new Security Engineering Center (GSec) in India.
This is the company's fourth such center in the world, after Dublin, Munich, and Malaga.
The GSec will enable Google to work with local stakeholders including government agencies, academic institutions, and small businesses to develop solutions for cybersecurity challenges.
Partnership
Partnership with I4C
Google has joined hands with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs to raise awareness about cybercrimes.
The collaboration builds on Google's existing efforts such as DigiKavach, an online fraud detection initiative launched in 2023 to mitigate the impact of malicious financial apps and predatory loan services.
Tech deployment
AI to play a key role in tackling digital fraud
Globally, Google is deploying AI to tackle online scams and has removed millions of advertisements and ad accounts.
In India, the company plans to leverage AI more aggressively to tackle digital fraud.
For instance, Google Messages comes with an AI-powered Scam Detection facility that has protected users from over 500 million suspicious messages each month.
User protection
Millions of scams blocked on Google Pay and Play
Google Pay, one of India's most popular UPI payment apps, has also been proactive in protecting users from potential scams.
The app has issued 41 million warnings against suspicious transactions.
Meanwhile, Google's Play Protect service blocked almost 60 million attempts to install high-risk apps last year, preventing over 220,000 unique apps on more than 13 million devices.