On Thursday, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry ordered digital media publishers, including OTT and digital news platforms, 15 days to complete their information on their compliance with the new digital media ethical rules that were released in February. According to the IB Ministry, publishers of news on digital media would be required to follow the Press Council of India’s Norms of Journalistic Conduct as well as the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act’s Program Code.
These new IT guidelines from the Centre are intended to provide a soft-touch progressive institutional structure with a level playing field for news publishers and OTT platforms in the digital media, including a Code of Ethics and a three-tier grievance redressal system.
According to the IB Ministry, the new Code of Ethics and IT standards would apply to online news and digital media businesses, OTT platforms, and digital media. Further information was provided by I & B Minister Prakash Javadekar, who told India Today that the tightening of laws controlling social media and streaming businesses was done to curb false news.
On Wednesday, the Centre also released instructions for digital media sites, requesting that compliance be filed as soon as possible. A day after WhatsApp filed a case in the Delhi High Court challenging the new digital regulations, claiming that the obligation for the business to grant access to encrypted conversations violates privacy rights, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad stated that the new regulations will not influence the popular free-messaging platform’s operation.
Government of India writes to social media platforms, asking them about compliance with IT Rules 2021.@GoI_MeitY@rsprasad@OfficeOfRSP#ITRules#PrivacyPolicy
Read the letter here: pic.twitter.com/xw1XxVNIdb— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) May 26, 2021
