Social media companies must pay creators fairly: Vaishnaw

New Delhi: Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vashno Social media platforms should compensate content creators they use to make billions in profits, they said on Thursday.“Social media platforms must also share revenue in an equitable way with content creators, whether journalists, traditional media, remote creators, influencers, or professors and researchers who use the platform to disseminate their work.… Fair revenue must be shared with content creators,” Vaishnaw said at the Storyboard 18 Digital News Publishers Association conclave.‘Social media giants must take responsibility’Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s call for “fair compensation” comes amid a raging global debate over the social media giant’s refusal to compensate content creators it uses to make huge profits.The behavior of platforms was a focus of discussion at the conclave, with Vishno saying social media companies could no longer act as neutral intermediaries. He said they now operate like publishers and must be responsible for the content they host and amplify.The development of the internet into a powerful media ecosystem requires a redistribution of responsibilities, Vishno said. “The nature of the Internet has changed… Today it has become a powerful media channel, and like the media, platforms must take responsibility,” he added. “Platforms must be responsible for the content they publish.”The minister warned that deepfakes, disinformation and synthetic media are eroding public trust and the damage goes beyond individual harm. “Society as a whole is built on trust in institutions… The core principle of trust is under threat,” he said, noting that fake images and videos are spreading rapidly through algorithm-driven virality.The I&B minister also emphasized that synthetic content should not be created without explicit consent.