The Indian government is willing to come up with strict social media rules if there is consensus among all political parties, according to the Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw. He was responding to a supplementary question posed by MP Sushil Kumar Modi in the Rajya Sabha on February 4. The question was regarding action taken by the Indian government against the “Bulli Bai” app creators. Vaishnaw responded that the government dealt with the “sensitive” matter proactively by initiating an investigation. Vaishnaw contended that the government is accused of curbing freedom of speech whenever it tries to make social media more accountable but it is not the case. He added that the rules need to be made stricter to protect users. “We need to bring balance and consensus in our society to make social media accountable to ensure the safety and security of our women and our future generations," the minister said. The Indian government has already devised a regulatory framework for social media intermediaries, digital news publishers, and OTT platforms by releasing the IT Rules last year which have been challenged in various courts on account of their overreach and infringement of rights. The IT minister's comments suggest that the government might not shy away from coming up with a new set of rules which may prove to be more prohibitive than the IT Rules. How many digital publishers have complied with the IT Rules? In response to another question by Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Vishwam, the…
