Have to ensure users are safe on social media; misuse non-negotiable

Social media platforms should show improvement in accountability and self-regulation, said Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, in an interview on Sunday. Vaishnaw said taking action for potential misuse of the platform in terms of igniting law and order situations, compromising people’s dignity is “non-negotiable”.

“Social media’s base and its regulation are continuously evolving. World over there is a though process around technology being a great boon but it must become more accountable. What is going out there and who is going to check it? Shouldn’t the industry be the first one to be the gatekeeper? What is the grievances redressal mechanism?” Vaishnaw responded to a question by Times of India on striking a balance between social media companies setting different standards for countries and the Indian government being the country with maximum number of requests to pull down content.

He further called for improvement in accountability and self-regulation by social media companies and said in countries such as the US it is very difficult to put hate content because the companies have developed algorithms and invested in it, whereas it is not the case in India.

Vaishnaw described the large capital expenditure element for the Railways in the recent Budget as a “record allocation” of Rs 1.37 lakh crore. He explained that there are three major pillars of the PM’s vision for Railways – “the passenger experience has to change through steps on stations, trains, safety, timeliness, and cleanliness; railways to provide transformational power for the economy, and the share to increase from the current 27-28 percent so that the logistics come down; making railways future-ready for 2047 with latest technology.”

On being asked how the government plans to compete Railways with airlines, Vaishnaw said we should not be competing but collaborate in a way so that consumer gets the best service. “For distances up to 150km, road travel is good. Between 150km and 900km, railways are good, and beyond that, it is good for air.”

He said the next-generation of 400 new trains announced in the Budget will see lower vibrations, noise, and more seating comfort. Vande Bharat trains, he said, are semi-high speed trains as they have the potential to reach 180kmph and the the second version of those can reach 200kmph, just as high-speed trains, provided the tracks are ready for it. “It’s a big policy question, how fast we can run our trains on the surface,” he said.

Vaishnaw also told that there are two elements involved in the rollout of 5G – first, getting the service up and running, second, developing the entire technology stack. “TRAI is on the verge of completing its consultations and will submit the recommendations in end-March. Then we can go for auctions and start rollout,” he said, adding that auctions can be expected in the middle of the next financial year. “There is serious work going on and soon you should get some good news,” Vaishnaw said. News18