Shri Nitish Kumar

Growing at an extremely fast pace the OTT and Social Media platforms have grabbed the government’s attention

• India is a vast country and we have seen an outrageous growth in the OTT segment especially during the corona period.
• According to the predictions by some experts, India will have more than 500 Million plus OTT and Social Media users in the next three to four years.
• Whenever any industry is growing at such a high and hard pace, it is obvious that it will grab the attention of the government and the regulatory authorities.
• The government has given a 3-tier grievance system and the role of every tier or layer is different. Where first 2 layers are for self-regulation and the 3rd layer is kind of an interdepartmental layer.

Vivek Kumar

The new guidelines can curb false information spread on the internet

• In Prajwala’s Case, the Supreme Court ruled that the government can come up with any law or legislation to stop or eliminate child pornography, rape, gang rape, and objectionable imageries or content on the social media platforms.
• As per the first provision of the new IT rules 2021, the social media companies are prohibited from hosting or publishing any unlawful information which violates the sovereignty and integrity of India.
• If such information is hosted or published then the government can take down the content within 24 hours.
• Also, the government can order messaging platforms to track and identify the user from where an unlawful message is sourced. This can be of great help in curbing the spread the false information on social media.

Aditya Arajit Mohapatra

Social Media platforms have become a medium of spreading false information

• India is a young nation and there are over 220 to 250 Million smartphone users in India which will touch the mark of 500 Million shortly.
• There are no regulations for Social Media and OTT platforms in India because of which new IT rules were extremely necessary.
• There have been incidents in the past where online messaging platforms have served as a medium to incite political and communal riots in the nation.
• The government should try to control the spread of false information on messaging apps and the content on OTT platforms should be should also be monitored.

Vishal Kumar

New IT Rule 2021 were necessary but it could have been brought in a more established manner

• Fake news, child abuse, terrorism, child pornography, women’s safety, rapes, and bullying are prevalent on social media nowadays.
• In the new rules, the government has asked the intermediaries to set up the grievance and ensure online safety. Also, if any content uploaded on social media is against the public interest it should be removed within 24 hours.
• All the OTT and social media platforms are asked to bring parental controls which is a great step to prevent children from watching unfavorable content online.
• Privacy breach is one of the major problems arising with new IT rules 2021 as the government can ask platforms to track the ID from where a particular data originated.

Kartik Keshari

Social Media is being used to threaten our national security

• We’ve seen in the cases like the Lal Qila case that the social media companies refuse to abide by the laws of the Indian Constitution or the orders of the Indian Government.
• When the government asked social media companies to deactivate accounts of some Khalistani supporters, they refused on the ground it violates freedom of expression.
• Nowadays many social media platforms are being used to threaten the national security of India.
• The only issue is that the government should have issued a public notice to advertise the laws to a greater extent and should have accepted comments from the public too.

Arnav

This step should have been taken by the government much earlier

• We have seen in the past that how social media served as the origin point of many unfortunate events. An example can be the violence during the recent farmer’s protests.
• Parental control was very much needed because big OTT services like Netflix and Amazon Prime have started serving soft porn and nudity in their content with the intention of increasing their follower base.
• With the help of the new IT rules 2021, the users can now address grievances on content that threatens them in any way.
• Regulation of online platforms has become extremely necessary to preserve national security.

Nikunj Batra

Privacy will be compromised but the new rules were much needed

• The social media giants should be welcomed to India but we should make sure that they follow the constitution of India.
• There have been cases in the recent past where content on social media and OTT platforms has hurt the religious sentiments of some people. Hence, this can cause distress in certain sections of society.
• False information and rumors have become prevalent on messaging platforms which has resulted in protests and violence in the cases like the CAA and Lal Qila case.
• One of the major drawbacks is that the government did not discuss this law with the citizens of India. They just released a notification in 2018 which was not properly publicized.

Purohit Kumar

With new rules, the government is trying to create a monopoly

• India needs these rules as we are in the era of digitalization and we need to ensure our country’s harmony and peace.
• We should learn from the European countries and should make strong policies for digital India.
• Tracking every content from its source can lead to monopoly by the government. Hence, we should also ensure that these rules should not threaten our freedom of expression.
• Nowadays new channels do not show real issues in our nation and social media has become a tool for a common man to raise his/her voice. Therefore, the government should not try to suppress them.

Kamaluddin Raza

The government did not discuss the rules with the public

• The government followed the same pattern in making IT Rules 2021 that they followed in making Farm Laws i.e. neither of the laws were discussed with the public.
• These rules can help the government establish its monopoly and can prove to be a threat to freedom of speech and expression.
• We have seen how some news portals that publish news in favor of the government are supported while those who are against the government are suppressed.
• The government is almost about to convert the guidelines into an act and the public still does not know anything about the rules.

Amreesh Singh

There are no explanations by the government on the new guidelines

• Almost 40% of the population in India uses social media and online messaging platforms such as Whatsapp. Hence, rumors spread like wildfire on these platforms.
• Under new guidelines, users can file a complaint against any objectionable media circulating on online platforms and it should be removed within 24 hrs by the authorities.
• But a certain section of the public thinks that the government can misuse this act and can pose a threat to freedom of expression on social platforms.
• The government should inform the public about the guidelines before making it an act.