How Andhra and Telangana Are Controlling Social Media?

Social Media Control: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are adopting daring but opposed strategies for social media regulation. While Telangana has sparked controversy by proposing to increase monitoring and release “history sheets” on repeat offenders on social media, Andhra Pradesh is working to enact comprehensive new legislation to combat online abuse and disinformation.

Under Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the Andhra Pradesh government is addressing digital responsibility through legislation. A powerful Group of Ministers (GoM) was established by the state on Wednesday to research and create new social media legislation.

Important politicians, including Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha and IT Minister Nara Lokesh, are among the five members of the committee. One of the many responsibilities assigned to the GoM is to examine current legislation to identify any areas where compliance and enforcement are lacking.

They are expected to research global best practices for regulating digital platforms and suggest actions to make social media companies responsible for online abuse and disinformation. It is also anticipated that the group would offer recommendations on bolstering user rights and setting up nodal organizations for content monitoring.

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The Telangana government has chosen a tougher enforcement approach, emphasizing heightened monitoring of repeat offenders, in contrast to Andhra Pradesh’s legislative drive. As per the recent reports, the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau has opened the history sheets for organized crime and also for habitual social media offenders. The main goal is to reduce hate speech on social media, fake content, and also provocative content. It is also said that they are going to monitor regularly.

Some of the legal experts and also a few general public are raising voices against the violation of privacy, and this also violates fundamental rights by being monitored without any consent. The initiatives of both states highlight the rising conflict between upholding law and order in the digital sphere and defending constitutional rights, and they are a part of a broader national trend towards stronger digital regulation.