Confusion persists over digital news content
I&B SECY SANJAY JAJU ASKED THE OFFICIALS TO SHARE THE LATEST VERSION OF THE BILL WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS, REQUESTING COMMENTS WITHIN THREE WEEKS
The government’s latest, and till now the most comprehensive, round of talks with the industry on the proposed new regulation of broadcasting services was unable to reach clarity on whether individuals posting news content on social media will be subjected to obligations that apply to broadcasters and streaming platforms, and if commercial and professional activity online included influencers who did not post news content.
HT had reported in November that Clause 20 of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, taken with the definitions of “programme” and “news and current affairs programmes”, means that independent journalists who have their own YouTube channels and Instagram accounts, where they post news content as a professional activity, will attract the same obligations as that of an OTT broadcaster such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) held talks with industry stakeholders on Tuesday. I&B secretary Sanjay Jaju, who chaired the meeting, instructed officials to share the latest version of the bill with stakeholders, requesting comments within three weeks by July 31.
According to seven people aware of the matter, ministry officials told stakeholders that definitions have been revised in the new draft to provide greater clarity on what constitutes news and current affairs content. Despite that, executives from social media companies told the MIB that distinguishing between news and news adjacent content on social media is not easy.