Centre’s social media guidelines are dictatorial: Maha minister

A Maharashtra minister on Saturday opposed the central authorities’s rules for social media platforms and over-the-top (OTT) gamers, terming them as ‘dictatorial’ and a ‘threat’ to the democracy.
The Minister of State for IT Satej Patil additionally stated these rules should be opposed strongly as they infringe the privateness of people and free speech given by the Constitution.
‘This move by the Centre needs to be fought tooth and nail. Such dictatorial regulations will not be accepted by the people of this democratic country,’ he stated.

Some bureaucrats deciding on what must be printed and what not on any media platform is nothing however an assault on the liberty of press in India, Patil added.
‘Such orders will not have any standing in the court of law,’ he stated.
Talking concerning the arrest of activist Disha Ravi for her alleged involvement in sharing a ‘toolkit’ on social media associated to the farmers’ protest, the senior Congress chief from Kolhapur stated your entire episode was an act to suppress the voice of those that are exercising their freedom to speech.

A Delhi court docket just lately granted bail to the activist.
The Centre on February 25 introduced sweeping rules for social media corporations, resembling Facebook and Twitter in addition to OTT gamers like Netflix, requiring them to take away any content material flagged by authorities inside 36 hours and establishing a criticism redressal mechanism with an officer being based mostly within the nation.

The rules additionally make it necessary for platforms resembling Twitter and WhatsApp to determine the originator of a message that authorities take into account to be anti-national and in opposition to safety and sovereignty of the nation.