At a time when the government is involved in a tug-of-war with social media giant Twitter, Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu called for ‘moderation’ in the use of social media to prevent abuse.
Speaking to the reporters at the end of the first part of the Budget session, he said while he was against controlling the social media, the platform should also not be misused and abused. These platforms should not be converted into war theatre and principle of moderation should be followed. “Content for social media should be generated in a restrained and responsible manner by keeping the reactions to such content in mind. Such reflection would minimize offensive posts. Provocation should not be the objective. Sharing of views for better perspectives should be,” he said.
Samajwadi Party MP Chaudhary Sukhram Singh Yadav on Friday had raised the issue of his Twitter account being withheld. “I have not done anything to direct Twitter to suspend my account. I only posted whatever is happening in the farmer’s movement and there is nothing wrong in it,” Mr Yadav said.
On the ongoing farmers’ agitation, Mr. Naidu said that no one should take a “maximalist” position and talks are the only way out. “Taking extreme or maximalist positions by any side makes it difficult to resolve the issue as it makes accommodation of the other point of view difficult. Accordingly, the principle of moderation applies in this case as well.”
