Info and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated on Wednesday that present legal guidelines should be strengthened to curb vulgar content material on social media and over-the-top (OTT) platforms.
Responding to questions by the BJP’s Meerut MP Arun Govil in the course of the Query Hour in Lok Sabha, Vaishnaw stated the parliamentary standing committee ought to take up the difficulty and in addition referred to as for a consensus to border stricter legal guidelines on this regard.
In his query, Govil said that vulgar content material on OTT platforms and social media damages ethical values and tradition. He requested about present mechanisms to test the unlawful telecast of vulgar content material via social media platforms and whether or not the federal government proposes to make the prevailing legal guidelines extra stringent, contemplating that they don’t seem to be efficient in stopping the misuse of those platforms.
Vaishnaw said that beforehand, there have been editorial checks in place to find out if one thing was proper or improper; nonetheless, these checks are not there. “At the moment, social media, which is a serious platform for freedom of the press in a manner, can also be an uncontrolled expression in one other manner, wherein vulgar content material additionally comes because of lack of editorial test,” the minister stated.
Vaishnaw agreed that there was a must make the prevailing legal guidelines extra stringent. “I’ll enchantment to develop a consensus on it.”
Govil additional requested whether or not the federal government was contemplating introducing any new coverage to manage the operation of international platforms and OTT platforms that allegedly flow into objectionable content material and maintain them accountable beneath Indian legal guidelines.
Vaishnaw said that there’s a vital distinction between the tradition of India and that of nations the place these social media platforms originate. “Such a debate is occurring in virtually each nation internationally. So, I request our parliamentary standing committee to take up this difficulty, a consensus is made within the society on this difficulty, and extra stringent legal guidelines are made.”
Govil’s questions and Vaishnaw’s solutions got here amid din within the Home when the Opposition members insisted on discussing varied points, together with bribery fees associated to the Adani Group and violence within the Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh.
