Maharashtra Minister of state for Information Technology Satej Patil has slammed the Centre for issuing new Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code for social platforms and over the top (OTT) players.
He told the Free Press Journal, “The guidelines are dictatorial and a threat to democracy. Such rules will not be accepted by the people of this democratic country.”
Patil took a strong objection against the government’s move to have an access with the 53 crore users of WhatsApp, 44.8 crore of YouTube, 41 crore of Facebook, 21 crore of Instagram and 1.75 crore of Twitter.
“Why the government needs an access? Has the government got an adequate machinery or a mechanism to implement these rules?’’ he asked.
Patil said in the present set up the Cyber Crime can delete objectionable tweets or write ups on other social media platforms. He further stated that these regulations need to be opposed strongly as they infringe the privacy of individuals and free speech given by the Constitution.
Patil, who is a senior Congress leader and the Kolhapur district guardian minister, insisted that the Centre’s move should be fought tooth and nail. “Such dictatorial regulations will not be accepted by the people of this democratic country. Some bureaucrats deciding on what needs to be published and what not on any media platform is nothing but an attack on the freedom of press in India,” he added.
“Such orders will not have any standing in the court of law,” he said.
Patil reminded that Twitter had permanently suspended the account of former US President Donald Trump due to his objectionable tweets.
On the arrest of activist Disha Ravi for her alleged involvement in sharing a “toolkit” on social media related to the farmers’ protest, Patil said the entire episode was an act to suppress the voice of those who are exercising their freedom to speech. A Delhi court recently granted bail to the activist.
The Centre on February 25 had issued stringent regulations whereby social media companies such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and OTT players like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, Zee5, among others, will have to adhere to higher accountability standards in India. The new intermediary guidelines cover publishers of news on digital media as well.
