** A mandatory multilingual disclaimer and public complaint contact display system for all media and digital communication platforms - Media Responsibility, Public Awareness and Transparency in the Digital Communication Era

 ** A mandatory multilingual disclaimer and public complaint contact display system for all media and digital communication platforms - 

  Media Responsibility, Public Awareness and Transparency in the Digital Communication Era

                                        

NATIONAL MULTILINGUAL MEDIA TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY STANDARD (NMMTARS)

A National Initiative for Responsible Media, Copyright Protection and Public Awareness

1. PRESENT PROBLEMS

Information travels rapidly through newspapers, television, social media, messaging applications, blogs, OTT platforms and digital news portals.

Major concerns include:

• Fake news and manipulated images/videos.
• Unverified forwarding and publishing.
• Copyright violations and missing creator credits.
• Privacy violations.
• Unclear disclaimers and platform policies.
• Difficulties locating official complaint contacts.
• Insufficient visibility of corrections and clarifications.

2. PROPOSED SOLUTION

Introduce a common national standard requiring covered media organisations and digital platforms to provide multilingual disclaimers, accessible complaint information, content ownership awareness and transparent correction procedures.

3. SEVEN ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS

A. Multilingual Disclaimer
Display essential rules, responsibilities and legal information in the respective broadcasting or user-selected language.

B. Complaint Contact Details
Provide official telephone numbers, email addresses, grievance officer information wherever applicable, and QR codes.

C. Copyright Protection
Respect original photographers, journalists, authors, video creators and intellectual property owners. Obtain necessary permissions and provide proper attribution.

D. Transparent Correction System
Publish visible corrections and clarifications when mistakes occur. Maintain accessible correction records.

E. STOP – CHECK – VERIFY – SHARE
Promote responsible information sharing through regular awareness messages and AI-assisted verification guidance.

F. Three-Level Information Display

• Level 1: Short disclaimer and complaint contacts.
• Level 2: Detailed policies through website/app/QR code.
• Level 3: Complete legal terms and grievance procedures.

G. Broad Media Coverage
Newspapers, magazines, television, radio, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, blogs, OTT and digital news portals.

Provide simplified, proportionate compliance for individual creators and smaller publishers.

4. PRACTICAL REFERENCE – RECENT MEDIA INCIDENT

On 6 November 2026, Exchange4media reported that Indian Express Digital acknowledged an oversight involving the use of a photograph taken by The Hindu's photographer without permission or proper credit. The image was replaced and a note of regret was added.

Lesson: Copyright, source attribution, transparent corrections and accountability should apply to professional media organisations as well as individual users.

5. GOVERNMENT IMPLEMENTATION

Concerned ministries:

• Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Examine existing regulations, consult stakeholders and introduce common standards with phased and proportionate implementation.

6. EXPECTED BENEFITS

• Reduced misinformation.
• Better copyright and privacy protection.
• Greater media accountability.
• Improved digital literacy.
• Easier grievance redressal.
• Recognition of original creators.
• Greater public trust.
• A safer and more responsible digital society.

STRONG CONCLUSION

Responsibility must begin with the original publisher and continue through every person who shares the information.

VERIFY BEFORE PUBLISHING – VERIFY BEFORE FORWARDING – RESPECT COPYRIGHT – CORRECT WHEN WRONG.

"A Disclaimer Is Not Just a Legal Formality – It Is a Public Awareness and Accountability Responsibility."

Every Media Has a Responsibility. Every Creator Deserves Recognition. Every User Has a Right to Know. Every Citizen Deserves Information in Their Own Language.

Proposed by:

K. K. Gangadharan
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India

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