Ashwini Vaishnaw urges stronger regulations for social media, OTT content

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said that there is a need to strengthen existing regulations to curb vulgar content on social media and over-the-top (OTT) platforms, and called for a consensus on the same.

“We are living in the era of social media and OTT platforms. However, the democratic institutions and traditional forms of the press that once relied on editorial checks to ensure accountability and correctness of content have seen these checks diminish over time,” the Union minister of information and broadcasting, railways, and electronics and IT said in the Lok Sabha while addressing a question. 

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He added that due to the absence of such editorial oversight, social media has become a platform for freedom of the press on the one hand and a space for uncontrolled expression, which often includes vulgar content, on the other.

Acknowledging the distinct cultural differences between India and the geographies where these platforms originated, Vaishnaw pointed out that India's cultural sensitivities differ greatly from those of the regions where some of these platforms originated. This makes it imperative for India to make existing laws stricter. 

He, therefore, urged all stakeholders to come to a consensus on this matter.

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The minister further urged the parliamentary standing committee to take up the issue as a priority. “There should be societal consensus on it, along with stricter laws to address this challenge,” he said.

In February 2021, the government formally tightened its control over digital and OTT platforms with the introduction of a three-tier mechanism that it termed as a “soft-touch regulatory architecture". While the first two tiers put in place a system of self-regulation by the platforms themselves, the crucial third called for an oversight mechanism managed by central government bureaucrats. 

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Over the years, the scrutiny has only increased, with OTT shows like Tandav, Mirzapur, and IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack having come under the scanner.