‘Share revenue with news publishers or face legal action,’ minister Ashwini Vaishnaw warns platforms

In a pointed message, Union Information Technology and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday told digital and social media platforms to either voluntarily adopt fair revenue-sharing models for news publishers and content creators or be prepared for legal frameworks to enforce it. The minister was speaking at the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) Conclave 2026.

Vaishnaw said that platforms deriving value from journalistic and creative content must ensure equitable compensation not only for established news organisations, but also for independent creators, researchers and influencers in the country.

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“Platforms must work to share fair compensation for the content they use from publishers and creators. They either do it voluntarily or else there are legal ways to get it done,” he said.

“The platforms must also share revenue in a fair way with the people who are creating the content — whether it is news persons, conventional media, creators sitting in far-flung areas, influencers, professors or researchers,” he said.

He stressed that intellectual property has historically powered societal progress. “If original content is not fairly compensated, then the growth of science, technology, arts and literature will get stunted,” he warned.

“I will request all the platforms to rethink your revenue sharing policies. If this is not done voluntarily, there are so many countries which have shown the path to get it done in a legal way,” Vaishnaw added.

The minister’s remark is being seen as a signal that India could explore regulatory mechanisms mandating tech platforms to compensate news publishers for content usage.

‘Trust is the foundation, and it is under threat’

“The entire human society is built upon trust in institutions. When that trust erodes, the very foundation of society begins to weaken,” Vaishnaw said and warned that deepfakes, disinformation campaigns, and synthetically generated videos are iundermining public faith in institutions, including media.

“Creating videos with absolutely no correlation to reality, generating synthetic content of respected personalities without consent — these are not small issues. They directly challenge societal trust,” he said.

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‘Platforms must take responsibility for content’

“The nature of the internet has changed. It is no longer just an open-source exchange of information. It has become a powerful media outlet. The times are gone when a platform could say it is not responsible for the content,” Vaishnaw added.

He said platforms must take responsibility for illegal, harmful, or algorithmically amplified content. “Are they promoting fake content? Are they causing harm to children? Are they inciting crimes? These are questions platforms must now answer,” he said.

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‘Online safety is a national priority, consent must’

The minister also emphasised online safety as a national priority, particularly for children and vulnerable users. He called for proactive action against cyber fraud and cybercrime, stronger grievance redressal mechanisms, mandatory user consent before generating synthetic audio or video using an individual’s likeness, and greater accountability in algorithmic amplification.

“How can a video be generated of a well-known news anchor advertising a product without consent? That consent must be taken,” he said.

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Vaishnaw pointed out that courts and parliamentary committees have increasingly scrutinised the societal impact of digital platforms.

“The judiciary is concerned. The Parliamentary Committee has done extensive consultations and submitted a comprehensive report,” he said, urging stakeholders to examine the findings closely.

“In such interesting times, it’s very important that whatever we decide today lays the foundation of tomorrow,” he said.