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Broadcasting Bill 2024: The NDA government at the Center has put a substantial hold on the Broadcasting Bill 2024 for the time being. The government has said that a new draft will be prepared after extensive discussion and consultation on this issue. It is worth noting that this bill was prepared by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India in the month of November last year. The deadline for public comments on the draft bill was set as January 15, 2024.
The draft was reportedly leaked
After this, a second draft of the Broadcasting Bill was prepared in July. However, a serious allegation was made by the opposition that this second draft has been 'leaked'. The opposition alleged that the revised draft was secretly leaked to some stakeholders before it came to Parliament. Since then, digital news publishers and content creators have been opposing this bill.
What did the government say?
The statement given by the government said, 'We are working on the draft of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill. The bill was placed in the public domain on 10 November 2023 for public comment. After receiving many comments and suggestions, the bill has been extended till October 15, 2024. So that a new draft can be prepared after further deliberation.'
What was in the government's draft?
It is worth noting that the draft that the government has come up with also regulates the content broadcast on digital and OTT platforms such as YouTube, X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Netflix, Prime Video. Not only this, there was also a provision to name the organizations providing news on digital platforms as Digital News Broadcasters. The government was also proposing to create a separate Indian Broadcasting Authority for such institutions. If any digital news broadcaster does not follow the rules, then the draft also provides for government intervention.
There was a plan to create a 'censor board' for digital media,
Not only does the censor board work for cinema, but the government also made a provision to form a content evaluation committee for content aired on digital platforms. After which digital content creators were forced to follow the rules and get a certificate from the committee.
Allegations of censorship on digital media
Digital content creators and digital publishers have expressed their displeasure against some provisions of the Broadcasting Services Bill. They said that the government wants to impose censorship on digital content through this bill. People were afraid that after the bill is implemented, they will not be able to criticize the government on digital platforms.
The opposition strongly opposed this bill
Other political forces of the India Alliance, including the Congress, strongly opposed the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill 2024 and called the bill a threat to freedom of expression and freedom of the press. According to the opposition, the bill seeks to regulate individual content creators. Congress leader Pawan Khera called several aspects of the bill worrisome, saying that the bill would label anyone uploading videos, creating podcasts or writing on current affairs as a digital news broadcaster. The opposition demanded that the government involve members of civil society, journalists and key stakeholders in the process of drafting the bill.