E- symposia: Social Media and Privacy New IT rules

Report

The Department of Journalism and Mass Communication of IIS (deemed to be University) organised a session on the topic of E-symposia: Social Media and Privacy New IT rules on May 31st, 2021. The session aimed at understanding how new IT rules would impact our world and the communication. The session commenced by introducing the eminent speakers Mr. Rahul Mahajan (Content Head, Prasar Bharti), Shri. Prem Prakash (Assistant Editor, Jansatta), Mr. Abhishek Kumar (Founder, Indicc) and Mr. Anurag Punetha (Senior Anchor, Lok Sabha Tv).

Dr. Ashok Gupta, Chancellor, IIS (deemed to be University) addressed the audience with his words of enlightenment and welcomed the guests to share their views on the topic. He said that the new IT rules enforced by the government should be discussed and used judiciously to curb the menace of fraudulent news.

The first speaker of the session was Mr. Rahul Mahajan, who has been in the field of journalism for the last 23 years. He has worked with the reputed media organisations like Jansatta and TV channels like Zee News, AajTak, Star News, News 24 and Doordarshan.

Mr Mahajan laid the context of the session. He advocated the adoption of rules for functioning of social media platforms to curb the malpractices. He also talked about the global scenario and the various laws enforced in US, UK, Singapore and European Union which legally protect the various social media platforms from disturbing messages.

The second speaker in the row was Mr. Abhishek Kumar, the founding partner of Indicc Associates. He is a passionate advocate of citizen and consumer interest in policy making. In the past, he was Director at CUTS International. He has also worked with Ernst & Young, Royal Bank of Scotland Foundation, Digital Empowerment Foundation, Members of Parliament, UN assignments and as a senior News Editor at CNN-IBN. He has authored and co-authored several chapters and op-eds for mainstream publications and has edited two books besides making 50 documentaries on development issues in India. Mr Kumar emphasised on the need to have greater, deeper and wider consultations and discussions to build the trust among the citizens, government and the businesses. He stressed on the importance of flexible discussions rather than rigid opinions.

The third speaker was Shri Prem Prakash, Assistant Editor, Jansatta; who has been in the field of Journalism since 1992. He has worked with Sahara Samay, Rashtriya Samay, Rashtriya Sahara, National Duniya and News Trust of India. During his career, he has specialized in conceptual and column writing. Shri Prakash shared his thoughts on going back to the basics and discussed the disadvantages of globalization with the students.

The last speaker of the session was Mr. Anurag Punetha, a prominent face of Indian Tv news for more than 15 years now. He has been doing prime time bulletins and mega shows of different formats on current topics on various channels. Presently he is a prominent face of India’s parliamentary channel Lok Sabha TV. Mr. Punetha discussed about the social media anarchy, misinformation and disinformation with the students. He also pointed out that the debate should not be limited to why the government is controlling or interfering but it should also focus on whether and how civilians, independent people and credible people can be a part of this mechanism.

The session was moderated by Dr. Shipra Mathur, Head, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Dr. Aastha Saxena, Senior Assistant Professor of the department of Journalism and Mass Communication concluded the session by delivering the vote of thanks.