Centre may soon regulate what govt officials post on social media, talks on: Report

The union government is likely to come up with a social media code of conduct for its employees and officers, as the trend of staff posting reels, videos and personal opinions on social media platforms grows, media reports said.The code of conduct, once in effect, will be issued and applicable to all officers and employees, irrespective of their ranks. (Unsplash/ Representational)The matter was discussed at the highest levels of the government, which is now considering introducing a code of conduct to stop officials from posting videos or expressing opinions on inappropriate or sensitive subjects on social media platforms, news agency PTI reported, citing official sources.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed senior officials to examine the possibility of introducing a code of conduct. During a recent meeting with government secretaries, he also instructed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to speed up the launch of the “Ek Bharat” portal, a unified platform designed to provide government services to citizens, according to the Times of India, which cited sources.Also Read: When PM Modi's reel briefly vanished: What is — and isn't — known about how Meta moderates VVIP accountsCabinet secretary T V Somanathan, in a communication to bureaucrats this week, has outlined the action points emerging from the meeting, as per TOI.The code of conduct, once in effect, will be issued and applicable to all officers and employees, irrespective of their ranks, the sources said, according to PTI.However, it was not immediately clear when the code will be issued and what the possible guidelines could be.This comes amid a growing number of instances of government officials posting content on social media that glorifies their work and positions, behaviour that is generally considered inappropriate for public servants.According to sources as cited by PTI, the need for a social media code of conduct was felt by the government as currently no such rules exist.Govt reduces 'unlawful' content removal deadlineLast month, the government reduced the deadline for social media platforms to remove “unlawful information” from 36 hours to three hours after receiving a valid notice from the government or a court.Amid growing concerns over deepfakes and AI-generated videos, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) directed intermediaries to ensure that such content carries clear labels and traceable metadata. The move is aimed at helping users “easily identify synthetically generated material and prevent deception or misuse”.The directions are part of the IT rules amended in February. “Intermediaries are required to ensure clear labelling and traceable metadata for permissible AI-generated content, so that users can easily identify synthetically generated material and prevent deception or misuse,” the revised rules said.The amended rules also seek to strengthen user accountability and platform due diligence by requiring platforms to raise awareness among users about the legal consequences of posting unlawful AI-generated content and comply with stricter obligations.“It further strengthens user accountability and platform due diligence, including mandatory user awareness regarding legal consequences of unlawful AI-generated content and stronger compliance obligations for social media intermediaries,” it added.