New Broadcast Bill draft triggers concern over 'closed-door meetings with limited stakeholders'

The draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024, prepared by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and which will replace the Television Network Act of 1995, has left social media influencers and digital creators a worried lot. 

As per reports, the draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024 will classify social media influencers and social media pages who write about current affairs or any other news online as ‘digital news broadcasters’. 

It is viewed that the enactment of the draft law will bring the influencers and creators under the ambit of the government’s regulation. 
Within one month of the enactment of the Bill, social media influencers like YouTubers, Instagrammers and other digital creators having a user base above a set limit will be required to notify the government of their presence. They will also be required to register under a three-tier regulatory framework and establish a content evaluation committee to review all the contents before their publications. 

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The updated draft expands the definition of ‘news and current affairs programmes’ to include texts along with the existing categories of audio, visual, audio-visual content, signs, signals, writings and images all of which can be transmitted directly or through a broadcasting network. Furthermore, the definitions of programme and broadcasting have been revised to encompass texts and textual programmes. 

What has upset the community is the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting reportedly holding closed-door meetings with limited stakeholders about the draft bill. It is also alleged that digital associations, civil society, and non-industry stakeholders have no representation. 
Some experts observe that passing these laws will threaten the industry as digital creators are already under the purview of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023. 

It is also expected that the Bill will regulate the OTT sector as well.