India Is Creating Ecosystem to Make Social Media Accountable: Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Calling social media a “very powerful medium,” Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said that how to make it accountable is a “very valid question” and that an ecosystem is being created across the globe and in India for the same.

Self-regulation is a first step in the direction of making social media accountable, followed by industry regulation, and then government regulations, said the Union Minister of Railways, Communication and Electronics & Information Technology.

“Social media is a very powerful medium. Social media has a big influence on our lives. How to make it accountable has become a very valid question across the globe. All across the globe, countries and societies are moving in the direction of making social media accountable,” he said while interacting with media persons on the sideline of a programme.

Queried on ways to make social media accountable, the minister said the first step is self-regulation.

“Any such content that creates a harmful impact on society should be removed. Next comes industry regulation, and thereafter the government regulation,” he added.

“Everywhere across the globe and even in our country, an ecosystem, a thought process, is being created to make social media accountable,” Vaishnaw said after interacting with the startups and students at Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII).

He also highlighted the need for a “fair system” where the content creator gets his dues when the social media platforms like Facebook reap benefits by sharing it.

A person who works hard to create content should also get the benefit and a part of the revenue if social media like Facebook benefits, he said. “Such a thinking is also gaining hold,” the minister added.

“So, how to create a fair system, because this (social media) is very big progress. How everybody becomes a part of this progress, and how it becomes accountable — works are being done apace on these issues across the globe,” he said.