Social Media Intermediaries Must Have Due Diligence About Content, Says MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Social media intermediaries have serious obligations and responsibilities under Indian laws and the failure to observe due diligence could have consequences, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Rajeev Chandrasekhar reportedly said on Wednesday. He made the remarks in the context of vitriolic online abuses faced by Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh in the aftermath of India’s five-wicket loss to Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022.

According to a report by ANI, MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that all social media intermediaries should meet their responsibilities. While reacting to the online targeting of Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh, he said that intermediaries have a due diligence obligation towards content that is posted on their platforms.

“We do not necessarily want to threaten, we don’t want any intermediary to feel uncomfortable working in India but we want to surely remind them that they have a serious obligation and responsibility under the Indian laws,” he reportedly told ANI.

India’s young pacer Arshdeep Singh is currently under fire for dropping a crucial catch in the Super 4 Asia Cup cricket match against Pakistan at the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday.

The cricketer’s page on the Wikipedia platform was vandalised after the incident and he faced massive trolling on social media. His Wikipedia page was edited to brand him as “Khalistani.”

The minister on Monday criticised the move and tweeted that such online activity violated the government’s expectations of safe and trusted Internet.