New Delhi: Replying to a series of supplementaries regarding social media in Rajya Sabha today, Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the Opposition parties have to work together with us to eradicate problems in social media usage.
While responding to a querry from Congress MP Anand Sharma, Vaishnaw said, “Whenever the government has taken any step to make social media accountable, the opposition has accused it of curbing the freedom of speech.”
Asked by Sharma on whether any verification process to effectively check the functioning of social media is done, the minister said there have been stricter social media accountability.
“If the house has consensus, we are willing to provide even more stricter social media rules. I personally believe that for the protection of our citizens, we must make the rules stricter,” he said.
“I agree with you that we have to come forward as a society and create much more accountability of the social media,” the minister also said.
The minister in his written reply said, “Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook qualify as Intermediaries as per the information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. The Government is committed to ensure that the Internet in India is Open, Safe & Trusted and Accountable for all users.” In line with the above objectives, the government has notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Codes) Rules, 2021 on 25th February, 2021 to ensure that the internet is safe and trusted.
