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Fake news is a big concern, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Highlighting that the government welcomes criticism and the right to dissent, Law and Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said that the Centre is concerned over rampant abuse of platform as he laid down new rules for social media and OTT platforms.
Social media platforms must have provision for voluntary verification of users, Prasad said, adding that media freedom absolute but with responsible behaviour. Fake news a big concern, he said.
The government said OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video) would have to self-classify the content into five age-based categories - U (Universal), U/A 7+ (years), U/A 13+, U/A 16+, and A (Adult).
Ravi Shankar Prasad said that objectionable content must be removed within 24 hours. Prasad added that the originator of the objectionable content must also be disclosed
Under the Code of Ethics for online news and digital media entities, publishers of news on digital media will be required to follow the journalistic conduct of the Press Council of India and the programme code under the Cable Television Networks Regulatio