Yogi Adityanath-led government of Uttar Pradesh has come up with a new social media policy that will not only regulate content on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X, but also encourage influencers to promote the state government's programmes. The Uttar Pradesh Digital Media Policy, 2024 was drafted by the state's information department and has now been approved by the state cabinet.
Under the new policy, posting 'anti-national' content is a serious offence punishable by between 3 years and life imprisonment. In addition, obscene and defamatory content posted online may result in criminal defamation charges being brought by the government.
Soon after the UP cabinet meeting on Tuesday, minister Sanjay Nishad said, "Today, policy is being made for social media, Instagram... Now they will be regulated and they will also be given advertisements. A lot of policies have been made..."
The policy outlines that the government has appointed a digital agency called 'V-Form' to manage advertising. V-Form will oversee the display of videos, tweets, posts and reels. It also states that influencers/agencies/companies will be divided into four categories based on subscribers/followers.
As per the new policy, influencers will be paid for creating content, videos, tweets, posts, videos and reels that promote the welfare schemes and achievements of the state government. It states that influencers on X, Facebook and Instagram will be paid a maximum of ₹5 lakh, ₹4 lakh and ₹3 lakh per month respectively.
YouTube influencers will have different payment caps depending on the type of content they produce. Content creators who produce YouTube videos will be eligible for payments of up to ₹8 lakh per month. Meanwhile, influencers who create short films, podcasts and other types of content will be paid up to ₹7 lakh, ₹6 lakh and ₹4 lakh respectively.
