Parliamentary panel pushes for bringing broadcast bill; experts fear censorship guidelines after Ranveer Allahbadia row

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology has requested that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting introduce the new Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill in parliament as soon as possible.

The panel met earlier this month at Parliament House Annexe. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and panel Chairman Nishikant Dubey and officials from different ministries attended the meeting. The bill replaces the Cable Television Network Act of 1995.

The ministry is working on a new draft of the bill to be circulated for inter-ministerial consultation. The draft bill will then be submitted for the cabinet’s consideration.

The Committee, in its meeting on March 5, considered and adopted two draft Action Taken Reports. The meeting featured a comprehensive presentation and evidence on the subject 'Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Related Issues,' with representatives from key ministries, including the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and others, according to a report in The Hindu.

“This process is expected to take some time. The Committee will be duly informed about the progress of this process,” the ministry has informed the committee in its action taken response, according to a report in Hindustan Times.

The panel is learnt to have recommended that the cable television industry should be regulated through a comprehensive act as currently there are multiple acts, rules and guidelines along with multiple regulators such as MIB, TRAI, and Department of Telecommunications.

While the first draft of the bill was placed in the public domain for public consultation on November 10, 2023, the second draft was shared with selected stakeholders in July 2024 and was not placed in the public domain.

The second version sought to impose obligations of streaming platforms (“OTT broadcasting services”) on all news content creators, including those who are not associated with legacy media or registered digital media.

In August last year, the ministry was learnt to have withdrawn the draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024 after it triggered a controversy and criticism over fears that the government was trying to exert greater control over online content.

The new draft brings individuals, defined in the bill as ‘digital news broadcasters’, under the same umbrella of law as publications and broadcasters—which have, for long, had a set of responsibilities and code of conduct that was so far defined under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, according to media reports.

The Union government's recent advisory to social media and streaming platforms to strictly monitor and remove all content deemed obscene or vulgar after outrage over distasteful jokes on YouTube show India’s Got Latent featuring podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia and comic Samay Raina had sparked concerns about sweeping content regulations that could follow.

'Can result in serious censorship'

Experts said the Bill would consolidate existing guidelines and create a level playing field between different broadcasters, including OTT services. However, they hoped that the government would undertake in-depth consultations before the bill was tabled in Parliament “instead of just selectively circulating it among a handful of service providers, like it had done with the last draft of the bill in July 2024.” 

“Any Bill to regulate content over the internet can affect freedom of speech, shouldn't be taken lightly and must be thoroughly debated. The last iteration of the Bill also included within its ambit social and political commentators over the internet on Youtube and other platforms and granted the government broad powers to intervene and prohibit transmission. This is risky for any democracy and can result in serious censorship,” said  Rohit Kumar, Founding Partner - The Quantum Hub (TQH), a public policy firm