Ashwini Vaishnaw rips into social media for being ‘irresponsible’ and ‘dangerous’ on disinformation and algorithmic bias

On November 17, 2024By Pranco

The Minister of Electronics and IT, and Information and Broadcasting (I&B), Ashwini Vaishnaw, has called for a review of the safe harbor protection given to social media companies under the law. Vaishnaw flagged concerns about misinformation and suggested that the provisions, which exempt social media companies from liability for user-generated content, were drafted in the 1990s and are now under discussion.

During his speech on the occasion of National Press Day, the minister emphasized the need for greater accountability, highlighting the challenges posed by fake news and disinformation. Vaishnaw said, “Since the social media companies are not taking responsibility for what is posted on the platform, who will take responsibility?”

He cited how, even in developed countries, many cases of riots, terrorism and interference occurred because social media companies shirked their responsibilities. He added that in India’s diverse culture, we need to be “extra careful.”

In India, Section 79 of the IT Act exempts social media companies from liability for content posted by users.

Taking aim at social media companies, he lambasted algorithms that are configured to prioritize content that elicits strong responses regardless of its factual accuracy. He called the approach of social media companies ‘irresponsible’ and ‘dangerous for society’. He stated that misinformation combined with algorithmic bias could have serious consequences for a culturally diverse country like India.

Ashwini Vaishnaw also suggested that social media companies pay compensation to conventional media for content created by the latter. The minister argued that conventional media is losing financially.

He reasoned that conventional news outlets invest heavily in creating and training journalists, but news consumption is shifting to social media, making these investments irrelevant. This, he said, gives social media companies an “unequal advantage” in bargaining power.

Let’s understand the safe harbor provisions

The Safe Harbor provisions refer to legal protections that shield certain entities from liability for actions or content produced by third parties. In the context of social media platforms, these provisions are intended to protect companies like Facebook, Twitter or YouTube from responsibility for the content that users post on their platforms.

In India, the Safe Harbor provisions are set out in Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. This section states that intermediaries (such as social media platforms, internet service providers and online marketplaces) cannot be held liable for user errors. -generated content, unless they have knowledge or control over the illegal content. The main requirement is that the intermediary must act in a ‘neutral’ capacity, that is, he or she cannot be seen as the creator or publisher of the content.

Key points of safe harbor facilities:

Exemption from liability: Social media platforms and other intermediaries are not liable for user-generated content as long as they act as neutral intermediaries.

Notice and Removal: If the platform is notified of illegal content, it must remove or disable access to that content. This is typically the process of removing defamatory, illegal or harmful content once the platform has been notified.

Due diligence: Intermediaries must follow a due diligence framework established by the government to maintain safe harbor protections.

The purpose of the Safe Harbor provisions is to promote the growth of the Internet and online platforms without overburdening them with the responsibility of monitoring all content uploaded by users. However, there is an ongoing debate, especially in the context of disinformation and harmful content, as to whether these provisions are too lenient and need to be revised.