Social media must be more accountable, and more stringent rules regarding this can be
enacted when there is a political consensus regarding the issue, the Minister of Information
Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Rajya Sabha on Friday.
In response to a string of additional articles in this direction, He said that whenever the
government has taken any action to hold social media accountable, The public has accused
the government of limiting the freedom of expression.
“But it’s not true,” he said during Question Hour.
Responding to a query from the BJP’s Sushil Kumar Modi on what actions have been taken
against websites like “BulliBai” targeting Muslim women, Modi stated that the government
immediately acted when violations were brought to their notice.
“We need to find the right balance and reach a consensus on how to hold social media
accountable for the security and safety of our women as well as our next generation,”
Minister said.
To this end, he said social media rules need to be strengthened. And if the opposition
claims that the government is restricting freedom of speech, then that is not true.
“We must work together in a future direction.” When asked by Congress MLA Anand
Sharma on whether any method of verification to check the working of social media is in
place, the minister replied that there was a stricter approach to social media accountability
rules.
“If the house is in agreement that we can make even more stringent rules for social media.
I believe that to protect the citizens of our country; we need to tighten the rules,” he said.
“I am with you in that we must move forward as a community and make it easier to hold
accountable for the online media,” The minister stated.
At this point, the government is operating inside the framework of the Constitution, and the
roles of the states and the Centre should be put from a different perspective.
The law enforcement agencies of states are taking action based on information from
specific agencies or my team, he added.
A framework was created to address any cybercrime that occurs across the nation and can
be reported via an online portal.
The information is sent to the appropriate police department, He added.
In response to websites such as “BulliBai,” Mr. Vaishnaw stated, “This is a very delicate
issue. The protection of women’s dignity is the fundamental tenet of our administration,
and there is no compromise to it. This is our pledge, and there is no discussion of any
religion or regionality in the process.” He added that the government had taken immediate
action on this issue.
He said that it was not just a matter of focusing superficially; however, the IT department
has gone further in addressing the root of the problem.
Mr. Vaishnaw stated that social media is everywhere and holds a great deal of significance
in our daily lives, which is why the Government introduced extensive intermediary rules
and guidance to social media in 2021. how to make social media secure and accountable to
prevent its misuse.
There are five frameworks for institutions, and all intermediaries in social media must
release their monthly compliance reports on the internet, he added.
The minister’s written response said, “Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook
count as intermediaries according to the information Technology (IT) Act 2000. The
government is committed to ensuring that the Internet within India is safe, open and
secure, and accountable to everyone who uses it.”
In keeping with these goals, the government issued the Information Technology
(Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Codes) Rules, 2021, on the 25th of
February 2021 to ensure that online is secure and reliable.
The rules also stipulate an additional level of due diligence to be observed by significant
social Media Intermediaries, he added.
“In the event of non-compliance, rule 7 of the Rules apply, and the intermediaries will be
liable following section 79 under the IT Act, 2000,” Mr. Vaishnaw stated.
