At the DNPA Conclave 2026 under the theme “The New World Order of News”, Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw issued one of his strongest warnings yet to digital platforms, urging them to take responsibility for the content they host and to prioritise user safety, consent and institutional trust in the evolving digital ecosystem.
Addressing editors, publishers and technology leaders at the event organised by the Digital News Publishers Association, Vaishnaw said the internet has entered a new phase where platforms can no longer function as passive intermediaries.
“Platforms must wake up,” he said, adding that technology companies must understand the importance of reinforcing trust in the institutions that human society has built over thousands of years.
He stressed that accountability for online content is no longer optional. “Platforms must take the responsibility for the content that is hosted by them,” the minister said, linking platform design, algorithmic amplification and content distribution directly to the broader health of democratic discourse.
The online safety of children and citizens, he emphasised, is the responsibility of the platforms themselves, not merely of regulators or users.
Vaishnaw warned that failure to uphold these principles would carry consequences. “Non-adherence to these principles will definitely make them responsible because the nature of the internet has changed now,” he said, suggesting that regulatory expectations will increasingly shift toward demonstrable responsibility rather than policy statements.
A key part of his address focused on the risks posed by synthetic media and artificial intelligence. Vaishnaw said the rapid rise of AI-generated images, voices and videos requires urgent ethical safeguards.
“Synthetic content should not be generated without the consent of the person whose face or voice or personality has been used,” he said, underlining the government’s growing concern over deepfakes, impersonation and reputational harm.
"All that so-called content, when it reaches the common citizen, they start questioning the very basic structure of the society," he said.
He added that the challenge is not limited to India, noting that it is "happening everywhere, not only in India," and reflects a broader global concern over the misuse of emerging technologies.
Calling the present moment a turning point, the minister said, “the time has come to make that big inflectional change,” urging platforms to cooperate with society’s expectations. He added that public sentiment is increasingly demanding stronger safeguards and that such calls for reform must be respected.
"The threat is coming from so many different angles—deepfakes which can make you believe things which have never happened anyway," the minister stated.
Vaishnaw also cautioned against sustained misinformation campaigns that distort public perception. "Disinformation barrage can cause that sense of distrust, which doesn't exist in real life," he said.
He further pointed to fabricated digital material targeting respected individuals, such as "creating synthetically generated pictures of people well respected in society, creating videos which have absolutely no correlation with reality".
The minister’s remarks resonated with the conclave’s broader theme, which explored how journalism, technology and artificial intelligence are reshaping information flows.
Speaking at the conclave, Mariam Mammen Mathew, Chairperson of the DNPA and CEO of Malayala Manorama Online, underscored the urgency of strengthening the digital news ecosystem. "At a time when Al is reshaping the very foundations of news, it is critical for publishers, policymakers and platforms to come together and build a framework rooted in trust and responsibility," Mathew said.
She noted that as algorithms and platforms play a greater role in shaping what audiences see, safeguarding the credibility and sustainability of journalism has become a collective responsibility.
She emphasised that publishers, platforms and policymakers must work together to ensure that reliable reporting retains visibility and value in a technology-driven environment. Without such collaboration, she cautioned, the information ecosystem risks becoming fragmented and vulnerable to manipulation.
