Electronics and Information Technology Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Wednesday said there is an asymmetry between digital news publishers and big tech platforms over revenue sharing models. The Minister said in his address at the 2nd Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) Conclave and Digital Impact Awards that the Digital India Act will address this imbalance. “We are concerned about the deep asymmetry between those who create content and those who help content creators monetize that content,” the minister said at an event organized by Storyboard18 and DNPA in New Delhi. “I am doing so,” he said. Also read: DNPA Conclave 2024: Rajeev Chandrasekhar talks about India’s ‘tremendous’ digital transformationChandrasekhar said the Digital India Act, which will come into force after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, will create “a very clear gap between small and medium-sized businesses” and big tech companies in India’s digital ecosystem. “The very visible asymmetries” will be addressed. Platforms are the gatekeepers for monetizing that content. “Asymmetry needs to be legislated or at least regulated through new legal rules,” he added. The conclave was attended by policy makers, stakeholders and industry players from India and abroad to discuss and discuss the difficult path ahead for the digital media ecosystem in the context of AI-driven transformation. “The Western world has grown in recent years thanks to Big Tech. The same is true for China, a case of monopoly. But India is the only country that has taken a different path,” said G20 Sherpa and former NITI Aayog. CEO Amitabh Kant said at the event. Representatives attended the meeting, including WAN Executive Director of Media Policy and Public Affairs Elena Perotti; IFRA, Senior Advisor Florian Name, Axel Springer, News Media Canada President and CEO Paul Deegan, and others.
Discussions will be about the need to democratize relationships between publishers and platforms, including breaking up Big Tech monopolies into more competitive units, and exchange ideas about the future of digital media amid AI disruption. did.
They were joined by prominent corporate leaders including Mr. Poonawalla Manoj Gujaran, Chief Compliance Officer and Head of Legal & CSR, Poonawalla Fincorp; Veteran journalists Shekhar Gupta and Vikram Chandra also shared their valuable insights.
Ernst & Young has released a report titled ‘The State of Digital Media in India’ that provides industry players with an in-depth look at where the digital news media industry is headed.
‘I want the internet to be open’ says federal minister
Earlier, Chandrasekhar had pointed out the need to enact laws to democratize India’s vast internet space. “We want the Internet to be open. We don’t want the Internet and the monetization from the Internet to be controlled by just two or three companies.” he added. The minister lamented that social media platforms have an ecosystem of influencers and content creators who “pick and choose and play God”.
He clarified that the Indian government does not want to act as an arbiter, but only to ensure that appropriate rules are put in place.