Questioning the role of digital platforms in regulating content, Anupam Mittal, Founder and CEO of People Group took to LinkedIn to share his concerns amidst the Ranveer Allahbadia controversy.
Calling out the ‘big-tech’ giants as real culprits, Mittal remarked that digital platforms take cover under digital intermediary laws that allow them to flout all responsibility and accountability. He also highlighted how Allahbadia and Samay Raina, Apoorva Mukhija (and others like them) are actually the victims who are caught in an endless cycle of provocation for their relevance and survival.
“Imagine a newspaper or a TV channel publishing the type of content that these (digital) platforms carry with total impunity….Summon YouTube to the High Court too, not just Ranveer and Apoorva.”
While Mittal agreed that the language or remarks made during the controversial episode of ‘India’s Got Latent’ were obscene, he noted that social media’s survival depends on increasing outrage and the algorithm promotes the next level of obscenity.
“… what happened was messy, crass, and undeniably wrong. The statements and language used are totally unacceptable in any civilized society. But the show was always about insults, vulgarity, irreverence and shock…The reality is, this isn’t about a few individuals but a broader social media phenomena who’s survival depends on increasing outrage. When one extreme becomes the norm, what does the algorithm do? Promotes the next level of obscenity,” his post read.
“YouTube, Instagram, digital media, these platforms dangle virality like prasad, watch creators chase, and then step back when the fire starts.”
He further questioned if Indian laws actually protect young minds from explicit content and why platforms are not being held accountable for what they serve up.
Sharing his personal experience, Mittal raised concerns about how kids can still access far worse content with zero guardrails.
“YouTube is the worst of all offenders. Although I have parental controls set up for my 7-year-old, I am shocked at the age-inappropriate content that YouTube keeps serving up”
The recent uproar involving prominent influencers and content creators Ranveer Allahbadia, Samay Raina and Apoorva Mukhija, sparked by accusations of vulgar and obscene content has raised concerns about the responsibility of digital platforms in regulating such content, questioning whether enough is being done to curb the proliferation of material that many deem inappropriate.
Read more: Supreme Court slams Ranveer Allahbadia; stays arrest but bars him from doing shows
Recently, YouTuber Gaurav Taneja aka Flying Beast also questioned YouTube’s accountability and expressed that it was unfair for Allahbadia to bear the brunt alone.
“If the authorities were so worried about filthy language, they should have summoned Sundar Pichai also. Pichai is the CEO of Google, which owns YouTube. I am saying that go and find Sundar Pichai now. When you are putting up videos on YouTube which have filthy language, doesn’t the algorithm get to know? Why aren’t you getting Sundar Pichai? Because you can’t. They can only get the guy who is weak. They can harass him. Insane!” he said.
On February 18, the Supreme Court slammed Allahbadia and severely criticised him for his remarks, noting such behaviour should be condemned.