'Digital content creators should be mindful of social mores': Ashwini Vaishnaw on Ranveer Allahbadia controversy

Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday urged content creators and social media users to adhere to basic social etiquette when putting out contents on various social platforms.

Speaking at News 18's Rising Bharat Summit, Vaishnaw underlined that social mores must be taken into consideration when creators are creating content and consumers are viewing such contents.

Reflecting on the recent Ranveer Allahbadia/Samay Raina controversy, the minister said: We are all staying in a society. We must, as users of technology, whether we are content creators or consumer s of technology, we should understand our responsibility. I should see what my boundary should be." Vaishnaw's comments assumes special significance in the backdrop of reports that government is mulling ethics code for digital creators amid Ranveer Allahbadia controversy.

The 31-year-old Ranveer Allahbadia found himself in the centre of a social media storm based on a ‘Would you rather’ question in a YouTube show ‘India's Got Latent’.  Allahbadia, the YouTuber behind the "BeerBiceps" channel,  is facing criticism for a comment made on Samay Raina's show, "India's Got Latent." During the latest episode, Allahbadia posed an inappropriate question to a contestant, sparking controversy on social media. The show featured content creators like Ashish Chanchlani, Jaspreet Singh, and Apoorva Mukhija, known as "The Rebel Kid."

Allahbadia asked a contestant whether they would rather watch their parents have sex for the rest of their life or join them once and put a stop to it. A video of the remark went viral, leading to backlash from viewers and public figures. Many criticised the content as insensitive and inappropriate.