Bill to regulate digital media outlets listed for Monsoon Session of Parliament

New Delhi, July 16: The upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament would discuss a bill to regulate the digital media outlets and make them liable for violations that apply to the print media.

Currently the digital media is not regulated by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), but can voluntarily register with the ministry as per the new IT rules that were introduced last year. "The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2022 seeks to replace the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act, 1867 by decriminalisation of the existing Act, keeping the procedures of the extant Act simple from the view point of medium/small publishers, and uphold the values of Press Freedom," a statement read.

The bill is also likely to decriminalise provisions of the PRB Act, 1867 which currently covers the news media. It will do away with the provisions, violation of which can lead to imprisonment, a Hindustan Times report said while citing an official.

In November the ministry had brought OTT platforms and other other online news and current affairs content under the ambit of the I&B ministry and gave it powers to regulate policies and rules for the digital space.

In January 2019, eight video streaming services had signed a self-regulatory code that laid down a set of guiding principles for content on these platforms.

The code adopted by the OTTs prohibited five types of content, including those deliberately and maliciously disrespects the national emblem or national flag, any visual or story line that promotes child pornography, any content that maliciously intends to outrage religious sentiments, content that deliberately and maliciously promotes or encourages terrorism etc.

However, the government had refused to support this code.