He warned that failure to adhere to these principles would lead to accountability for these platforms. Vaishnaw also expressed concerns about the dangers posed by deepfakes and disinformation campaigns.
Speaking at the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) Conclave 2026, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said social media platforms must ensure fair revenue sharing with those who create content, including journalists, traditional media, influencers and researchers.
‘Social media platforms must also share revenue in a fair way with the people who are creating the content, whether it is news persons, the conventional media, the creators sitting in far-flung areas, influencers, the professors and researchers who are disseminating their work using the platforms,” Vaishnaw said at DNPA Conclave.
Vaishnaw also said there will be consequences if platforms do not follow these principles. “Non-adherence to these principles will definitely make them responsible because the nature of Internet has changed now,” he added.
The nature of the internet has changed. The nature of the internet which emerged decades ago was very different from the nature of the internet which exists today. No longer is the case where the internet was open-sourced, where it was basically used to exchange information… pic.twitter.com/lDXPWDeck1
— PIB India (@PIB_India) February 26, 2026
IT Minister said the internet has changed a lot over the years. “The nature of the internet which emerged decades ago was very different from the nature of the internet which exists today. No longer is the case where the internet was open-sourced, where it was basically used to exchange information between different parts of the world. The times are gone when a platform could say they are not responsible for the country. Those times are gone because the platforms themselves have changed from being pure platforms to becoming hosts to the world,” he explained.
Union Minister also raised concerns over the rising threat of deepfakes and organised disinformation campaigns.
“The way the world is emerging today the core tenet of trust is under threat. The threat is coming from so many different angles – Deepfakes – which can make you belief things which have never happened anyway,” he said.