New Delhi: The government is willing to provide even stricter provisions to stop misuse of social media, however, the Centre seeks consensus on the issue both from the Opposition and states, Electronic and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Rajya Sabha on Friday. “If there’s consensus in the House, we are willing to provide even more strict social media rules. I personally believe that for the protection of our citizens we must make the rules stricter,” he said. Vaishnaw said the government is working within the constitutional framework and the role of the state and the role of the Centre both have to be seen in this perspective. The minister was responding to Congress’s Anand Sharma who expressed concerns alleging insidious messages being spread on social media groups which were fuelling passion. “I have personally written to the government about it. Will you have a centralised control room which can take effective action and also block misuse of such Apps if required,” said Anand Sharma. “Don’t blame us for breaking freedom of speech when we bring provisions for social media,” urged Ashwini Vaishnaw making the government’s stand clear. On an alleged targeted campaign against muslim women on social media, the minister said, “This is a sensitive issue. Protecting the dignity of women is a fundamental issue for us. We can’t compromise on the issue irrespective of religion. This is our commitment to protect the dignity of women.” He said that the government is committed to ensure that women are made safe everywhere, including on cyberspace. BJP MP Sushil Modi also raised the Bulli Bai App issue in the House. Detailing the steps taken so far, the minister said that the government has issued comprehensive rules in 2021 to make social media entities accountable and stop the misuse of the platforms. All social media intermediaries need to publish their compliance reports to maintain transparency, he said. There is a framework created for any cyber crime that happens all over the country, it can be reported on a central portal, it goes to the relevant law enforcement agency, he said. UNI ASU ING
