NEW DELHI: Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday called on digital platforms to act responsibly while hosting content, stressing the need to ensure online safety and protect citizens from the misuse of emerging technologies.
Speaking at the conclave of the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) in New Delhi, Vaishnaw said platforms must take greater responsibility for the content they host and work to reinforce public trust in institutions.
“Platforms must wake up, must understand the importance of reinforcing trust in the institutions, which human society has created over thousands of years. Platforms must take the responsibility for the content that is hosted by them. The online safety of children, the online safety of all citizens is the responsibility of the platforms. Non-adherence to these principles will definitely make them responsible because the nature of the Internet has changed now,” said Vaishnaw.
The minister also raised serious concerns about the misuse of artificial intelligence to create synthetic or deepfake content. He said such content should not be generated without permission from the person whose identity is being used.
“Synthetic content should not be generated without the consent of the person whose face or voice or personality has been used to create the content. Time has come to make that big inflectional change. And I will request the platforms to cooperate with this human society’s basic need and the society which is today asking for this change has to be respected,” he said.
The DNPA, an umbrella body representing the digital arms of 22 media organisations including The New Indian Express, has taken steps in recent years to promote fairness and equality for news publishers.
Vaishnaw said the government has already made it clear to digital platforms that they must ensure their services are not used for illegal activities or for spreading content that promotes or incites crimes.
Highlighting the importance of intellectual property, the union minister said it is the backbone of societal progress and creators must receive fair compensation for their original work. He urged platforms to reconsider their revenue-sharing policies to ensure fair payment to content creators.
"That incentive for creating the original work and getting that fair compensation and fair appreciation from sections of the society, from the entire society, must be respected, must be valued. I will request all the platforms to rethink their revenue-sharing policies because that is also one of the major concerns that the entire society today is raising. If this is not done voluntarily, then there are so many countries which have shown the path to get it done in a legal way.” he said.