UP’s New Social Media Policy: Anti-National Posts May Lead To Life Imprisonment

Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath-helmed Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has brought in major changes in its social media policy to regulate content across platforms including Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.

The Uttar Pradesh Digital Media Policy, 2024, approved by the state Cabinet on Tuesday, has introduced guidelines for addressing objectionable social media content and mandates stringent legal action.

Under the new policy, posting anti-national content is a serious offence that will lead to severe consequences, with penalties ranging from three years of imprisonment to a life term.

Such actions were earlier addressed under Sections 66E and 66F of the Information Technology (IT) Act, which deal with privacy violations and cyberterrorism, respectively.

The policy also states that disseminating obscene or defamatory material online can result in criminal defamation charges, further underscoring legal ramifications of misusing digital platforms.

The state government has listed a digital agency ‘V Form’ that will handle advertisements, and will be responsible for showcasing videos, tweets, posts and reels.

Influencers will be able to earn up to Rs 8 lakh per month on social media by sharing the state government’s schemes and initiatives on their platforms.

The policy has specified payment limits for influencers, account holders and operators on social media platforms. For X, Facebook, and Instagram, maximum monthly payment limits are set at Rs 5 lakh, Rs 4 lakh and Rs 3 lakh, respectively. On YouTube, the payment limits for videos, shorts and podcasts are Rs 8 lakh, Rs 7 lakh, Rs 6 lakh, and Rs 4 lakh, respectively.