Govt to introduce bill in Parliament to regulate digital media: Sources

NEW DELHI,JULY  15 : The Centre is likely to bring legislation by which digital media in the country will be regulated and could face action for “violations” under the Registration of Press and Periodicals Bill, sources said.

The bill, if passed, will replace the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, which regulates newspapers and printing presses in India.

Under the Registration of Press and Periodicals Bill, that proposes to bring digital media on par with newspapers, digital platforms will have to apply for registration, sources said. The bill, that is yet to be taken up by Cabinet, proposes to include “news on digital media through any electronic device”.

Digital publishers will need to register with the Press Registrar General, sources said, effectively bringing digital media under government regulation.

Currently, the Registrar of Newspapers, a statutory body of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting regulates and monitors printing and publication of newspapers in the country.

In 2019, the Centre had put out a draft Registration of Press and Periodicals Bill that defined news on digital media as “news in digitised format that can be transmitted over the internet, computer or mobile networks and includes text, audio, video and graphics”.

-The India Today