Digital media policy: Up to Rs 8 lakh for online push of UP schemes, action if content negative

It also empowers the Information Director to initiate action and stop payment if “any such content, video tweet, post, reel is anti-national, anti-social, indecent or hurts the sentiments of various sections of the society”.

The officer can also take action if “the content is based on wrong facts or presents government schemes in a wrong manner or with wrong intention”.

With the Opposition calling it an attempt to control content on social media, Shishir Singh, Director, Information, clarified: “How can there be any provision of providing punishment in any such policy? Under the policy, the Director, Information, has been authorised to take legal action under the relevant provisions of law against any anti-national, anti-social, derogatory posts. It may range from lodging FIR under the relevant law, getting that post deleted, revoking empanelment or discontinuing the advertisement.”

The order issued Wednesday cited the need for the government to disseminate information via digital media platforms about various developmental, public welfare, beneficial schemes, achievements in the state and the benefits to the people.

Under the policy, pages, channels, account holders, operators, digital media influencers, content writers or their related agencies and firms will be empanelled in the department and advertisements will be issued as per requirement and utility.

To be empanelled with the Information Department, minimum functioning of two years is mandatory. Influencers will have to give an affidavit that there is no criminal case registered against them or their firm.

Different platforms of digital media i.e. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X etc will be listed by the Information Department in four different categories on the basis of subscribers, followers.

For example, in the case of Facebook and YouTube, categories A, B, C and D will be based on those with minimum subscriber numbers of 10 lakh, 5 lakh, 2 lakh and 1 lakh, respectively. Whereas, in the case of X and Instagram, it will be categorised according to minimum subscribers or followers of 5 lakh, 3 lakh, 2 lakh and 1 lakh, respectively.

Payments will be defined for each social media segment and category – for “video, reels and podcast” on Facebook and Instagram, a maximum of Rs 5, 4, 3 and 2 lakh per month respectively under four categories. In the case of a written post on Facebook, X or Instagram, it will be Rs 10,000, Rs 8,000, Rs 6,000 and Rs 5,000 per post and maximum up to Rs 50,000 per month, Rs 40,000, Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 per month.

The maximum amount will be given under the YouTube category where it will be Rs 1 lakh for displaying each video advertisement given by the government and Rs 2 lakh for those developing their own content on the topic given by the government. This amount can be maximum up to Rs 8 lakh, Rs 7 lakh, Rs 6 lakh and Rs 4 lakh per month under the A category, B, C and D categories.

With Soumyarendra Barik, New Delhi