The efforts of the conventional media in content creation should be suitably compensated by the intermediary platforms using them, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday as he acknowledged media’s contributions to India’s freedom struggle and in preserving democracy during the "dark days" of Emergency.

Virtually addressing an event to mark the National Press Day, Vaishnaw said, "Let us begin by remembering the contributions of the press to our struggle for freedom from oppressive forces twice in the last century.

"The first was the long-drawn battle to achieve freedom from British rule. And the second was the fight to preserve democracy during the dark years of Emergency imposed by the Congress government." "We must not forget these struggles because history has a tendency to repeat itself and those who forget history are bound to face the same challenges again. That is why the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to observe June 25 as 'Constitution Murder Day'," the minister added.

Highlighting the four challenges facing the media and society today, Vaishnaw said traditional media is losing out financially because news is "rapidly shifting" from the conventional modes to the digital space.

"While the investment that goes behind creating a team of journalists, training them, having editorial processes and methods to check the veracity of news, and taking responsibility for the content is huge both in terms of time and money, they are becoming irrelevant since these platforms are having a very unequal edge in terms of bargaining power vis-a-vis conventional media," Vaishnaw said.

"This needs to be addressed. The efforts made by the conventional media in creating content must be suitably compensated," he added.

Stating that the "rapid spread" of fake news and disinformation is also a challenge facing the media and the society today, Vaishnaw said, "It is a big threat not only to the media because it undermines its trust, but also to democracy. Since the platforms do not verify what all are posted, false and misleading information can be found in abundance on practically all platforms. Even those considered as aware citizens fall into the trap of such misinformation." "So, the question is who will take the responsibility for the content published on these platforms," the minister asked, as he pitched for revisiting the "safe harbour" provision which protects intermediaries and internet service providers from liability for third-party content they host or transmit online.

Globally, there is debate over the relevance of a "construct" that is safe harbour, Vaishnaw said.

"This is a construct which came in the 1990s when internet was developing. It was the time when availability of digital medium was limited to a select few, mostly in universities and research institutes," he said.

Stating that the situation has changed today with the easy availability of digital medium, Vaishnaw said, "It is so common, so prevalent. Practically every person you see in the cities and a large population in the rural areas now have mobile phones in their hands with access to the world digitally. So, is the construct of safe harbour that was developed in the '90s still relevant today?" The minister also said it is well known today that many riots, including some in the developed world, acts of terrorism, and interference in the democratic processes occurred because the platforms shied away from their responsibility for the content.

"Given our diverse society, we have to be extra careful. Our country has many sensitivities which do not exist in the countries where these platforms originated. Be it language, religion, regional differences or cultural diversity, we have to be extra careful when we are working in a country as diverse as India.

"Therefore, if the circumstances are different, shouldn’t there be different metrics for the platforms? Shouldn't the platforms share more responsibility? These questions need to be debated in our social context," Vaishnaw said.

The minister also highlighted the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on intellectual property rights as another challenge facing the media and society today.

"The content produced by the creators, musicians, filmmakers, writers, and authors are all being digested by the AI models. So, what happens to the creators' intellectual property rights? What are the consequences for those original creators? Are they being compensated for their work? Are they being acknowledged for their work? "Under such changes in technology, what is the safeguard for original content creators? This is not just an economic issue, but also an ethical issue," Vaishnaw said.

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