Social media companies must pay creators fairly: Ashwini Vaishnaw

NEW DELHI: Information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Thursday social media platforms should compensate creators of the content they use for earning billions in profit.

“Social media platforms must also share revenue in a fair way with the people who are creating content, whether it is news persons, conventional media, creators in far-flung areas, influencers, or professors and researchers disseminating their work using the platforms... there has to be a fair share of revenue with the people who are creating the content,” Vaishnaw said at the Storyboard 18 Digital News Publishers Association Conclave.




‘Social media giants must be accountable’

Information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s pitch for “fair compensation” comes amid a debate raging globally over the refusal of social media giants to compensate creators of content which they have used to make huge profits.

The conduct of platforms was under focus in the deliberations at the conclave, with Vaishnaw saying that social media companies can no longer function as neutral intermediaries. They now operate like publishers and must be accountable for the content they host and amplify, he said.

Vaishnaw said internet’s evolution into a powerful media ecosystem demands a redistribution of responsibility. “The nature of internet has changed... today it has become a powerful media outlet, where, like media, the platforms must take responsibility,” he said, adding, “Platforms must take responsibility for what they are publishing.”

Warning deepfakes, disinformation and synthetic media are corroding public trust, the minister said the damage goes beyond individual harm. “The entire society is built upon trust in institutions... that core tenet of trust is under threat,” he said, pointing to the rapid spread of fabricated images and videos through algorithm-driven virality.

The I&B minister also emphasised that synthetic content must not be created without explicit consent.
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