Responsibility for content on social media, websites should be clearly defined: Ashwini Vaishnav

New Delhi: Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Thursday said responsibility for the content posted on social media platforms and websites should be “clearly defined”. The Minister further said that the changes in technology and Internet in the last few decades necessitated a fundamental rethinking in the governance structure of the Internet.

Vaishnav, while inaugurating the first India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF 2021), said, “Ways of content creation, ways of consuming content, ways of using internet, languages ​​in which internet is used, machines Internet access, everything has changed. So, with these fundamental changes, we definitely need to rethink the fundamentals of the entire internet governance structure.”

Stating that India is a leader in this regard, Vaishnav said that India, one of the largest users of the Internet, should be a major stakeholder in the way the Internet operates around the world. In an era where content is being created and consumed through mobile devices, the Minister asked the participants of the forum to discuss and deliberate on key issues, including the responsibility of the content.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajiv Chandrashekhar emphasized that the future of global Internet should be led by India’s Internet ecosystem and innovation capabilities. He said the future of the Internet would have to be “carefully planned”, noting that in a few years there would be a billion Indian users using the Internet. Chandrashekhar said, “In this context, it is extremely important that we as a nation carefully shape the future of the Internet, carefully laying out policies and regulations, rights and responsibilities.”