Digital platforms must take responsibility for online content, safety of children: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday asserted that digital platforms must take responsibility for the content they host, stressing that ensuring the online safety of children and citizens is their obligation.

Addressing the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) Conclave here, Vaishnaw said platforms need to "wake up" and understand the importance of reinforcing trust in the institutions that human society has built over thousands of years.

"Platforms must take responsibility for the content that is hosted by them. The online safety of children, the online safety of all citizens is the responsibility of the platforms," he said.

The minister cautioned that non-adherence to these principles would make these platforms accountable, noting that the nature of the internet has changed now.

He also underlined the need to regulate the use of AI-generated content, saying such material should not be generated without the consent of the person whose face, voice or personality is used.

"The time has come to make that big inflectional change. I request the platforms to cooperate with this human society's basic needs. The society which is today asking for this change has to be respected," he said.

Vaishnaw said human society is built on trust in institutions -- from the family and social identity to the judiciary, media and legislature -- all of which operate on the fundamental premise of trust.

Citing the media as an example, the minister said its credibility rests on being unbiased, verifying information before publication and remaining accountable for its content.

Similarly, every arm, every institution built by humans is based on these fundamental tenets, where mutual trust defines the entire core of the institution, he said.

However, the way the world is evolving, that core tenet of trust is under threat, particularly from emerging technologies such as deepfakes that can make people believe in events that never occurred, he said.