The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has rightly withdrawn the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill sensing dissonance on it. The ministry has said on X that it is working on a new draft and has invited stakeholders to give their opinions by October 15. Perhaps the government is aware that with a reduced majority, it would not be smooth sailing for a contentious bill that is seen not to be in consonance with Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution that enshrines the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. Based on the feedback received, the definition of a ‘digital news broadcaster’ was seen to be too broad. The bill brought in its ambit all manners of content creators including digital influencers, and posts on the likes of LinkedIn, YouTube and X.
What is particularly alarming is that with each round of revision in media regulations, the noose has gotten tighter. The broadcasting industry has been regulated for long by the omnibus Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995. It is outdated today as its processes pivot on last-mile cable delivery, while a slew of other digital platforms have sprung up over the past two decades. The ministry initially circulated a Broadcasting Regulation Bill last November, which brought streaming services into its scope. It also sought to introduce a content evaluation committee comprising government and non-industry members to work like a censor.
Along with the bill came a slew of other media regulations in 2023—the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, Press and Registration of Periodicals Act and IT Rules—adding to the woes of an over-regulated industry. The revised broadcast bill of 2024 has gone a step further by including ‘intermediaries’ such as internet service providers, social media platforms and search engines in its regulatory sphere. The right to freedom of speech and expression is not absolute; Article 19(2) allows for ‘reasonable restrictions’ to protect, among other things, the sovereignty of the nation, and norms of decency and morality. On the other hand, if news flow is throttled and all forms of content are vetted by government bodies, the soul of the fundamental right to free speech will be extinguished. One can only hope that the revision process of the new broadcast bill will help broaden free speech and not impose new restrictions on it.
