MPs not informed as panel seeks action on influencers | Powertrip #101

Welcome to this week’s Powertrip, a political newsletter exclusively curated for TNM and NL subscribers by Dhanya Rajendran, Shabbir Ahmed, and Pooja Prasanna. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology has urged the Ministry of Electronics and IT and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to take action against Indian influencers and platforms that allegedly “work against the interests of the country”. Powertrip spoke to Opposition MPs on the committee to find out more..Inside TrackExclusive stories, for your eyes only.MPs kept in dark as panel seeks action on influencersThe government is in war mode. Not just with Pakistan, but with social media influencers at home too.After cases were filed against influencers like Neha Singh Rathore and Dr Medusa, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, chaired by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, has now urged the Ministry of Electronics and IT and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to take action against Indian influencers and platforms that allegedly “work against the interests of the country” and may “incite violence.”However, TNM spoke to four Opposition MPs on the committee, all of whom confirmed that they were not informed about such a directive. TMC MP Saket Gokhale said, “The Members of the committee were neither informed nor did we sign anything to that effect. The Chairman of a committee has no authority to issue a notice without approval of Members.”The notice asks the two ministries to consider banning such platforms under the IT Act, 2000 and the Digital Media Rules, 2021.Though couched in terms of national interest, the use of vague language like “working against the country’s interests” raises red flags. These very provisions have been used before – to take down The Caravan’s reports on military excesses in Kashmir and to block Malayalam news channel Media One. (The Supreme Court later overturned the ban on Media One, calling it arbitrary.)Meanwhile, the Standing Committee is set to meet on May 7 to “review mechanisms to curb fake news”. Sources told us that top bureaucrats, including the Home Secretary and Defence Secretary, will depose before the committee. Several digital outlets and YouTube channels have been questioning the government’s narrative around the Pahalgam terror attack. While the right-wing online ecosystem has labelled them “anti-national”, an Opposition MP told TNM that this latest notice could be a precursor to bans on platforms the government wants to silence.Meanwhile, many independent YouTube journalists are already under pressure – facing a surge in copyright strikes from Sansad TV and ANI, often in disregard of fair use protections.A YouTuber by the name Paurush Sharma has uploaded a video narrating how his channel has been served a notice by YouTube and that it will be shut down in seven days. The notice was purportedly served after he received four copyright strikes, all of them from the same media house. He says that five days ago, the media house in question started off with four strikes but by the end of the day, there were many more strikes. And now he says not just this channel, but even others and possibly those he may start in the future might be terminated. The media house has asked him to pay Rs 24 lakh to remove the strikes and Paurush is now trying to raise funds through his viewers..Before you move ahead, here’s something special.It’s Press Freedom Week, and we’ve unlocked last week’s 100th Powertrip for everyone — no paywall.This is your chance to send it to someone you know, friends, colleagues, family, who’s been curious about the newsletter. Let them see why Powertrip is worth reading every week.And if you want to take it a step further, use our Buy 1 Gift 1 offer to gift a TNM subscription to them. .Zero HourA political story of public importance.Adani’s Millions in Mauritius.The ED and CBI were investigating AgustaWestland kickbacks. They found Adani’s network..PowermovesTop 5 political storiesKerala has a drug problem, but it isn’t India’s new drug capitalExplained: The Rs 3200 crore AP liquor scam with Jagan’s former advisor at its centre Mangaluru mob lynching: Activists accuse police of inaction against man with BJP linksHow is Bhu Bharati, Telangana’s new land records system, different from Dharani?Amaravati needs more than just loans, says CPI(M) as PM Modi relaunches capital works

MPs not informed as panel seeks action on influencers | Powertrip #101

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