MIB won’t introduce fresh draft of Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill: Reports

New Delhi: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has opted against introducing a fresh draft of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, according to a Financial Express report from August 19. 

Sources within MIB have indicated that there is no current need for the proposed legislation, stated the report.

Amid concerns in some quarters, including the opposition parties, over restrictions on social and digital media space in the proposed law, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced last week that it will hold further consultations before preparing a new draft of the broadcasting bill.

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is working on a Draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill.

The draft Bill was placed in public domain on 10.11.2023 along with the explanatory notes for comments of the stakeholders and the general public. https://t.co/3A4brxbfLC…

— Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (@MIB_India) August 12, 2024

The contentious bill has been under development since November 2023.

Sources to FE indicated that the government is focusing on the Digital India Act, and any additional issues will be addressed through this legislation.

The second draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, circulated by the government among a few stakeholders, drew criticism from media bodies such as DigiPub and the Editors Guild of India, which claimed that digital media organisations and civil society associations were not consulted on the move.

A version of the draft bill sought to club online content creators with OTT and digital news broadcasters, bringing them under the ambit of the ministry’s Content and Advertisement Code.

The provisions would have made it mandatory for individual online content creators to appoint a grievance redressal officer and a content evaluation committee once they crossed a certain number of subscribers.

Contrary to the general belief, news broadcasters are not favouring the bill in its current form as it gives the government the right to conduct inspections without prior permission or notification on broadcasting networks, broadcasting service providers, and other entities covered by the bill, such as content creators, among others, BestMediaInfo.com reported last week.

It was alleged that the news broadcasters lobbied and supported the draft bill as they were losing out to independent content creators, who are proposed to be categorised as “digital news broadcasters”.

The general feeling that independent content creators are driving the narrative could possibly be the case, with some claiming they played a significant role in the 2024 election results.

However, the industry stakeholders think that the narratives should be countered with facts.

"You cannot control the narrative, especially in the era of digital and social media," said multiple sources at television news broadcasters.