Protests at Press Club against NewsClick probe
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, November 11: After wrapping up the inter-ministerial consultation, the government is inviting feedback from the stakeholders for the sweeping changes in existing laws to bring in the digital media in the scope of regulation. The draft bill proposes that “Broadcast Advisory Council will advise central government on programme code and advertisement code violations”.
The draft Bill introduces statutory penalties with various options, such as advisory, warning, censure, or monetary penalties, for operators and broadcasters.
“Provision for imprisonment and/or fines remains, but only for very serious offenses such as obtaining registration with false Affidavit etc., ensuring a balanced approach to regulation,” stated a presentation of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Monetary penalties and fines are linked to the financial capacity of the entity, taking into account their investment and turnover to ensure fairness and equity, stated the presentation, while adding that “provision for imprisonment and/or fines remains, but only for very serious offenses such as obtaining registration with false Affidavit etc., ensuring a balanced approach to regulation”.
Monetary penalties and fines are linked to the financial capacity of the entity, taking into account their investment and turnover to ensure fairness and equity while the bill seeks adherence to “Programme and Advertisement Codes” across various services.
The bill also proposes “Self-Regulating Bodies” to penalise its members for contravention of norms and articles or “Programme code and Advertisement code” through monetary and non–monetary penalties. Statutory definition for terms like Broadcasting, Broadcasting Services, Broadcasting Network Operators etc. along with other important technical terms are also stated to be defined in the statute for the first time.
“Enabling provisions in the Bill will ensure adaptability of the Act to regulate the emerging broadcasting models along with enabling provision for the issuance of comprehensive accessibility guidelines to make broadcasting more inclusive and accessible. Focus will be on voluntary acceptance by the broadcasters and network operators,” added the presentation on the bill.
The draft bill also seeks to define tools like subtitles, audio descriptor, sign language, etc., while also providing for “Disability Grievance officer”.
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