Technology

In the six months before the Indian elections earlier this year, YouTuber Akash Banerjee created content highlighting the shortcomings of the incumbent government.

The political satirist made videos about topics such as the government’s divisive campaign pitch and its crackdown on the opposition parties. “Independent creators put their neck on the line to reach voters,” he told Rest of World, describing his work.

But for the past week, Banerjee has been stressed about the prospect of having to shut down his YouTube channel, The Deshbhakt, which has over 4.8 million subscribers.

That’s because the Indian government has plans to classify social media creators as “digital news broadcasters,” which would make it mandatory for them to register with the government, set up a content evaluation committee that checks all content before it is published, and appoint complaint handlers — all at their own expense. Any failures in compliance could lead to criminal charges, including jail term.

In the unlikely case you were under the illusion that this was some sort of consumer-protection move.