I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw blames cultural clash for 'vulgar' content on social media, demands stricter laws

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said that the cultural difference between India and the countries where social media platforms have emerged from, should be blamed for some of the objectionable content on these platforms.

The Information and Broadcasting Minister said that there was a need to strengthen laws to curb particularly 'vulgar' content circulating on these platforms.

"There is a lot of difference between the culture of our country and the countries from where these social media platforms have come...So I would like the Standing Committee of the Parliament to take up this issue and strict laws are made regarding the same," said Vaishnaw.


Speaking in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister called for the Parliamentary Standing Committee to take up the matter and work towards establishing stricter regulations to address the growing issue.

Vaishnaw said that while editorial checks once played a key role in determining the appropriateness of content, these checks have diminished.

"Earlier, there were editorial checks and it was decided whether something was right or wrong, but those checks have ended. Today, social media is a platform for freedom of the press, but it is uncontrolled and there is vulgar content," he said during the Question Hour.

The minister's comments came in response to questions raised by BJP MP Arun Govil, who had asked about the government's stance on current measures to prevent the broadcast of vulgar and sexually explicit material on social media.

Vaishnaw acknowledged the limitations of existing laws and said that the need for more stringent legislation to tackle misuse was imminent.

"There is a need to make existing laws more stringent to curb vulgar content on social media platforms," said the I&B minister.