Online content must define responsibility, says IT Minister

IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that India must “clearly define” the responsibility for the content being put out on social media platforms as there is an “implicit trust” of the word on the internet. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the first India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF 2021), Vaishnaw said that a “fundamental rethink of the entire governance structure of internet” was needed.

He said, “It is very important because the young minds would be very easily tempted to believe what is the written word. Whether that content is on a social media platform or on a website, it should be clearly defined so that it becomes part of the society as an acceptable form.”

Vaishnaw also said that since all systems are driven by digital technology and internet was the fundamental medium through which all this happened, it was important to build fundamental structures within the governance system itself so that cybersecurity became a “central part” of development.

The accountability of large players on the internet to their consumers, or the emerging threat of online user harm and criminality are all issues that have to be debated and discussed.