A parliamentary panel has suggested that features like 'community notes' on X could be treated as a publishing activity, potentially redefining the platform's role from an intermediary to a publisher.
Community notes is an entirely user-generated feature that allows users to add context under a misleading post.
The parliamentary standing committee on communications and information technology has suggested that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) direct platforms to disable 'community notes' or consider imposing a 'publisher tax', which experts see it as obligations similar to Australia's News Media Bargaining Code, which requires platforms to compensate news publishers.
Dubey said on X, 'Our committee, that is, the Parliament's Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, has unanimously told @GoI_MeitY, the Government of India, that @XCorpIndia's job is community note publishing, not that of an intermediary, so either social media platforms should shut down their community notes, otherwise, as per Australia's law, they will have to pay the publishers' tax.'
This has drawn sharp reactions from experts, opposition leaders, and digital rights groups, who warn it could have far-reaching implications for free speech and platform liability in India.
