I&B Minister Asks Digital Platforms To Share Revenue Fairly

 New Delhi: Union information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday called upon digital platforms to ensure fair revenue sharing with content creators and news organisations, stating that innovation would suffer if creators were denied due compensation.

Addressing the Digital News Publishers Association Conclave in New Delhi, the minister said platforms must take responsibility for the content they host and for the online safety of users.

“Platforms must take responsibility for the content that is hosted by them. The online safety of children and all citizens is the responsibility of the platforms,” he said, adding that digital intermediaries had evolved into powerful media outlets.

He urged platforms to respect intellectual property and adopt fair negotiation policies. “I request all platforms to rethink their negotiation policies. If voluntary action is not taken, many countries have already shown that legal pathways exist,” he said.

Vaishnaw also underlined the need to regulate AI-generated content, stating that such material should not be created without the consent of the person whose face, voice or personality is used. “How can a video of a famous news anchor be generated without consent… This is not acceptable. Consent must be mandatory,” he said.

He said society was grappling with issues including online safety, authenticity of news content, protection of children, obscenity and synthetically generated fake content. “All these issues require decisive steps today because they are challenging and even destroying the fundamental tenets of our society: trust in institutions built over centuries,” he said.

Stating that trust was central to institutions such as the judiciary, media and legislature, the minister said the nature of the internet had changed and platforms could no longer claim to be mere intermediaries. “The time is gone when platforms could say they are not responsible for content. Those times are gone. Platforms have changed from being pure intermediaries to becoming hosts to the world,” he said.

He called for cooperation from digital platforms in addressing these concerns and reinforcing public trust.