The Press Council of India (PCI) on Tuesday celebrated the National Press Day, with eminent personalities recalling the media's contribution and evolution in the country.

The PCI organised a seminar on the topic, 'Who is not afraid of media?', to mark the occasion.

Addressing the seminar, Swaminathan Gurumurthy, editor of Tamil language Thuglak magazine, traced the changes media has undergone from the pre-Independence era to the present day.

Talking about social media, he dubbed it as "anarchic" and suggested that a complete ban should be imposed on it as it poses a risk to "everybody's image, national security and national interest".

Some of the participants in the seminar, however, differed from Gurumurthy's suggestion, saying while measures need to be taken to check the circulation of unverified information, a complete ban on social media would not be an appropriate step to check the spread of misinformation.

Underlining the positive aspects of social media, one of the participants said it has offered individuals a platform to freely express their views on any topic.

Gurumurty was invited as a guest of honour at the event hosted by the media watchdog which is headed by Justice (retd) Chandramauli Kumar Prasad.

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