Digital India Bill focuses on banning 11 types of content, says Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar

PTC Web Desk: Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar has announced plans for new legislation aiming at strictly regulating Internet and combating new cybercrimes in India.

In an interview with NDTV, the Union minister said the new Digital Personal Data Protection Bill would be presented in Parliament.

Who this Bill would be beneficial?
The Bill is likely to address online safety issues like child sexual abuse material, religious incitement material and misinformation on social media platforms and prevent cybercrimes.

The Union minister told NDTV that they would want a check on 11 things on social media platforms. These included porn, copyright infringement, content harmful for children, misleading content, impersonation, content deemed against India's unity and integrity, computer malware, banned online games, and anything else that is illegal.

"These types of content are currently listed in the last update of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, but the Digital India Bill will give the government legal teeth to hold platforms accountable for hosting such content," he told NDTV during the interview.