‘Social media platforms must ensure a fair sharing of revenue with those who create content’: IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said social media platforms must introduce fair revenue sharing with all categories of content creators. Speaking on Thursday at the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) Conclave 2026 in Delhi, the IT Minister warned that deepfakes and coordinated disinformation campaigns are eroding global trust.

Ashwini Vaishnaw said social media platforms must introduce fair revenue sharing with content creators

"The way the world is emerging today, the core tenet of trust is under threat," Vaishnaw told the gathering of policymakers, media leaders and industry experts.

He described the threat as coming from multiple directions.

The Minister further said that deepfakes can make people believe events that have never happened.

As misinformation has become systemic, the content-sharing platforms must accept responsibility for what appears on them because deepfakes, fake news and misinformation carry serious risks for society and democratic institutions.

Furthermore, the IT Minister stressed revenue. He insisted that social media platforms must share revenue in a fair manner with the people who create the content. This includes news persons and conventional media outlets, creators based in far-flung areas, influencers, professors and researchers who disseminate their work through these platforms. 

"Everywhere the principle now has to be set right and there has to be a fair share of revenue with the people who are creating the content," Vaishnaw said. 

"Synthetic content should not be generated without the consent of the person whose face or voice or personality has been used to create the content. Time has come to make that big inflectional change," he added.

He further insisted on explicit consent for the use of any person's face, voice or personality in AI-generated material, pointing to forthcoming restrictions on synthetic media, potentially backed by new legal safeguards for digital security and personal rights.

Vaishnaw also spoke of a "disinformation barrage" that can create a sense of distrust which does not exist in real life.

He pointed to the growing misuse of technology in producing synthetically generated pictures of well-respected figures in society and videos that have absolutely no correlation with reality.

Such material, he said, reaches the common citizen and leads people to question the very basic structure of society.

The Minister made clear that the problem is not confined to India. It is happening everywhere, he said, and represents a global challenge linked to emerging technologies.

AI-generated content featuring individuals, he added, should require explicit consent to protect digital security and individual rights.

According to Ashwini Vashnaw, digital platforms should ensure fair revenue sharing not only with news organisations but also with independent creators in remote areas, influencers, professors and researchers.

"I request all platforms to rethink their negotiation policies. If voluntary action is not taken, many countries have already shown that legal pathways exist," he said.

On the subject of fair revenue systems for content creators, Vaishnaw repeated his request: "I will request all the platforms to rethink their revenue-sharing policies because that is also one of the major concerns that the entire society today is raising. If this is not done voluntarily, then there are so many countries which have shown the path to get it done in a legal way."