Jayesh sees need for a law on social media

Even though social media is being used for hate campaigns and recruiting terrorists, the benefits outweigh the negatives, said IT secretary Jayesh Ranjan at Osmania University on Thursday.

Mr Ranjan was speaking at the inaugural of the two-day workshop of ‘Voice Positive.’ The workshop is being held to promote positive voices on social media and is being organised by Facebook and Swaniti in association with the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, (OU) and ICSSR (SR).

He said, “WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and so on are messengers. They are a reflection of what’s happening in the society. They are more democratic than conventional media and empower the common man.”

Mr Ranjan pointed out that there was a need for a law to control these trends, especially given that the Supreme Court struck down Section 66 (A) of the IT Act, 2000, and the relatively mild provisions of Section 153 of the Indian Penal Code.

Experts highlighted the need of awareness campaigns to ensure that semi-literate people do not fall prey to false messages.

Film-maker Elahe Hiptoola asked students to not consider social media as gospel truth, underscoring the fact that the virtual world is different from the real world.

Pointing out how fake news spreads online and is circulated to resemble the truth, Mr Hiptoola said: “Apply your minds. It’s the smart thing to do.”