MoS L Murugan Announces Ongoing Broadcasting Bill Consultation

On Friday, during the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, L Murugan, Minister of State (MoS) for Information and Broadcasting, updated the Rajya Sabha that public consultation on the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill is currently underway. Murugan confirmed that the bill is still in the drafting stage, with stakeholder consultations ongoing.

Murugan provided identical responses to questions posed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs Mohammed Nadimul Haque and Jawhar Sircar. He stated that the bill was made available for public comments from stakeholders, including domain experts and the general public, starting November 10, 2023.

Haque had inquired whether the government had ensured broader inclusion of public and civil society organizations in the consultation process and how the bill’s Clause 20 differentiates between OTT broadcasters and independent journalists.

Sircar questioned if small-budget independent journalists on social media are subject to the same obligations as corporate entities and whether the distinction between journalism and content creation has become unclear. He also asked if OTT and digital media have been integrated into broadcast regulations despite their differences from linear and on-demand services, and whether they are exempt from criminal penalties for failing to inform the government of reaching prescribed thresholds. Additionally, he sought information on whether democratic countries have Content Evaluation Committees to pre-certify content.

While the first draft of the broadcasting bill was placed in the public domain for consultation on November 10, the second draft, which was shared with select stakeholders last week, has not been publicly released. The second draft includes a watermark to track leaks and requires stakeholders to collect individual copies and commit not to disseminate them further. Stakeholders are required to submit their comments by August 10.

The second draft expands the definition of ‘OTT broadcasting services’ and introduces ‘digital news broadcasters,’ covering all online news and related content such as videos, commentary, and podcasts. This means that content creators who regularly upload to social media, including independent journalists and popular content creators, are potentially included under this bill.

The draft also exempts OTT and digital news broadcasters from criminal penalties for failing to inform the government of reaching thresholds, a detail communicated to stakeholders in a July 9 meeting. Previous meetings have assured that the bill recognizes the differences between linear broadcasters and on-demand services, allowing for separate programming and advertising codes.

The bill remains in the drafting stage and will need to undergo vetting by the law ministry and the Union Cabinet before being introduced in Parliament.