UP Government Digital Media Policy: Anti-National Posts To Face Life Imprisonment; Plan Receives Flak From The Opposition

The Uttar Pradesh Government has been receiving flak and sharp criticism from the Opposition for their new social media policy. They recently came up with a policy where influencers will be rewarded for sharing pro-government posts including the State government’s initiatives, schemes, and achievements on their official handles. The Opposition parties have alleged that no ‘social media warrior’ can save the government which is bound to face defeat in the upcoming election.

Principal Secretary, Information Department, Sanjay Prasad issued a press note where he expressed how the initiative will help in the employment of the State’s citizens. He added that the Government has decided to list agencies and firms that will promote their advertisements through “digital medium like tweets/videos/posts/reels about schemes and achievements of the U.P. Government.”

The policy has categorised influencers into 4 categories with payment limits based on their subscribers and followers on their platforms. Quoted by The Hindu, the statement further read, “For X, Facebook, and Instagram, the maximum monthly payment limits are set at ₹five lakh, ₹four lakh, ₹three lakh and ₹two lakh respectively, while on YouTube, the payment limits for videos, shorts, and podcasts are ₹eight lakh, ₹seven lakh, ₹six lakh, and ₹four lakh, respectively.”

However, for derogatory posts, under the new policy, if found guilty, the influencer will receive punishment ranging from three years to life imprisonment for anti-national activities. As per Business Standard, the police currently book the accused under Sections 66 (E) and 66 (F) of the IT Act.

The new ‘UP Digital Media Policy 2024,’ which was cleared by the UP Cabinet on Thursday evening, has invited a lot of harsh criticism and flak from the Opposition parties. They have expressed that the initiative will curb independent voices and it will only provide employment to the BJP-linked people. 

Anil Yadav, U.P. Congress General Secretary, quoted by The Hindu, said on the matter, “With the increasing penetration of social media in this era, the move is an attempt to silence criticism. A lot of independent digital platforms brought truth of the BJP government in the last five years in front of public and defeated fake narrative created by the ruling party since 2014, it is a ploy to silence them through such measures.”

Santosh Singh, who runs the Digital platform of Times Of Swaraj, said, “With the rise of social media, the government faces stiff criticism over various issues, it wants now to create a favourable environment for itself and in a way through its money power want influencers to work as cheer leaders.”