New broadcasting bill draft raises censorship concerns

The Bill seeks to regulate online news distributors, raising concerns about free speech and the legislative process amid industry debates

- VERNIKA AWAL

In the last week of July, media reports highlighted a new, unpublished draft of the regulation for the domestic broadcasting industry. Called the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024, the legislation seeks to establish control over unregulated news distribution sources. This factor has since raised considerable furore and voices across the internet.

The crux of the story here is that the Bill has put the onus on individuals to be treated as broadcasters if they use their online presence to disseminate news content. This, in turn, makes it the first time that the Centre is seemingly set to interfere with social media stakeholders, including individuals and news personalities using social media accounts on platforms such as Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube. They could now be held accountable for not complying with the requisite regulations of being a publisher.

Policymakers and regulators have since spoken about the impact of such a Bill, stating that this law could, for the very first time, establish a situation wherein an individual and a corporate entity overlap regarding how they comply with regulations and the quantum of fines that apply to them.

ISSUES AND CONCERNS

Media reports on the Bill have claimed that the new draft brings individuals under its definition-a factor that could have serious repercussions. Reports claim that any content related to news and current affairs published by an individual "systematically" over text, audio, visual or a combination of any of these formats will be liable to be defined as "digital news broadcasters".