Sweeping terms in draft broadcast Bill raise red flags on free speech
- The latest draft of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024, raises several questions on the freedom of speech and expression and the government’s powers to regulate it.
Highlights:
- The Bill, which seeks to replace the 1995 Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, deals with television broadcasting.
- Expanding its remit from OTT content and digital news to include social media accounts and online video creators; defining a “digital news broadcaster
- The latest draft seeks to define “digital news broadcasters” to include “publisher of news and current affairs content” means any person who broadcasts news and current affairs programmes through an online paper, news portal, website, social media intermediary etc
- This definition could include users on YouTube, Instagram, and even X, who generate advertising revenue through paid subscriptions or monetise their social media accounts through affiliate activities.
- The Bill also seeks to validate the “Code of Ethics” prescribed under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 which has been stayed by the Bombay High Court and the Madras High Court.
- The draft Bill also seeks to regulate the broadcast of news and current affairs programmes (excluding print news).
- Such programmes will have to comply with the prescribed programme code and advertisement code.
- The thresholds for online content creators to intimate the government about their work and set up a CEC are currently undefined.
Prelims Takeaway
- Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024
- Freedom of Speech & expression