WHIP UP POLICY TO PROTECT GULLIBLE FROM ONLINE EVILS

Children are the most vulnerable section of society. And now, more children have easy access to smartphones, making them more vulnerable to all sorts of threats

- VINAY SAHASRABUDDHE

EDMUND Burke once famously said: “Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgement; and he betrays you instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion.”

Decisions by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government often resonate with what Burke said. This is also reflected in the position taken by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the subject of GST on online gaming. According to her, the government will not differentiate between skill- and luck-based gaming. This is the right decision at the right time. Considering the high costs involved in participating in online gaming, it is high time we make youngsters conscious of the danger they are exposed to. And remember, when we talk about high costs, these costs are not just in economic terms. The social cost, too, is very high.

India is not the only country to think of levying high taxes on gaming. Japan, too, has altered its policies and has now imposed additional taxes on smartphone-based gaming. In Malaysia, too, a couple of years ago, online gaming was brought within the tax purview. In the UK, Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) has been a duty on income from online gambling since 2014. One can compare these high taxes with taxes levied on what are called ‘sin goods’.

It is high time social scientists and policymakers conduct a realistic assessment of the impacts of the increasing digitisation on human lives. Technology is always welcome, but new technologies should not be allowed to enslave human beings. To sit pretty and allow technologies to influence human behaviour so drastically that the human element is threatened is simply ill-advised. It would be indulging in crass digital populism!