Regulations Under Consideration To Monitor Vulgar Content On Social Media: Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday talked about the need for stricter laws to regulate vulgar content on social media, citing cultural differences between India and the countries where these platforms originated.

He said: “There is a lot of difference between the culture of our country and the countries from where these social media platforms have come.”

He also suggested that the Standing Committee of the Parliament should address this issue and formulate strict laws to combat abusive content.

Vaishnaw‘s statement came in response to questions posed by Lok Sabha member Arun Govil during the question hour, highlighting the government’s concerns about the spread of objectionable content on social media platforms.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has outlined existing mechanisms to curb vulgar content on social media and plans to strengthen laws.

In response to the question by Shri Arun Govil, Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the government has notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which provide a Code of Ethics for online curated content publishers, including OTT platforms.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X and others have been booming for the past few years and have transformed communication in every nook and corner of the world. Global debates have intensified on account of its use and the content these platforms propagate.

In March 2024, the Ministry blocked 18 OTT platforms for publishing obscene content. The government proposes to make existing laws more stringent, recognising cultural differences between India and Western countries where social media platforms really originated.

Key Provisions include:

• Code of Ethics: Publishers must not transmit prohibited content and undertake age-based classification into five categories.
•  OTT platforms must restrict age-inappropriate content for children.
•  YouTube, Facebook and others must make reasonable efforts to prevent hosting, displaying or transmitting obscene, pornographic or harmful content.

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Ashwini Vaishnaw pointed out that offensive and vulgar content sprawl out within a blink and has to be regulated without affecting the freedom of speech.

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha proceedings were halted until noon on Wednesday due to intense protests by Opposition members.

The protests centred around the Adani controversy, the recent violence in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh and other pressing issues.

As soon as the House convened, numerous Opposition members, including those from Congress, stood up to raise various concerns.

Some Congress and Samajwadi Party members gathered while others stood in the aisle, shouting slogans. Speaker Om Birla urged the Opposition members to allow the Question Hour to proceed, assuring them that their issues could be addressed later.

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Despite the chaos, one question was taken up, but the protests persisted, leading to the adjournment of proceedings after just six minutes.

The Opposition members were adamant about discussing the Adani controversy and the recent violence in Sambhal. Notably, the Adani Group issued a statement clarifying that Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar have not been charged with violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the alleged bribery case.