Ashwini Vaishnaw seeks fair pay model for content creators

Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw has called on social media platforms to “rethink” their revenue-sharing policies, stressing that content creators, must receive a fair share of the value generated from their work.

Speaking at the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) Conclave, Vaishnaw said, “The platforms must also share revenue in a fair way with the people who are creating the content, whether it is news persons, the conventional media, the creators sitting in far-flung areas, large influencers, the small influencers, the professors and researchers who are disseminating their work using the platforms.”

Positioning the issue within a broader societal context, the minister argued that intellectual property forms the backbone of human progress. He warned that if original work is not respected and compensated appropriately, it risks slowing the growth of science, technology, arts and literature. “If that intellectual property is not well respected and not fairly compensated, then the growth of society… will get stunted,” he said.

Vaishnaw also indicated that platforms should act voluntarily rather than wait for regulatory intervention. “I will request all the platforms to rethink your revenue-sharing policies because that is also one of the major concerns that the entire society today is raising,” he stated, adding that several countries have demonstrated the ability to address such concerns “in a legal way” if required.

Beyond monetisation, he emphasised accountability, noting that platforms must take responsibility for the content they host and reinforce public trust in long-standing institutions.

The remarks come amid increasing global scrutiny of how digital platforms monetise content and compensate creators. As governments worldwide explore frameworks to rebalance digital economics, Vaishnaw’s comments signal that India is engaging more directly in the conversation around platform responsibility and fair value distribution.