New Delhi: The centre is preparing a bill to regulate digital media in the country and digital platforms could face action for "violations" under the Registration of Press and Periodicals Bill.
If passed, the bill will replace the British-era Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, which regulates newspapers and printing presses in India.
The Registration of Press and Periodicals Bill proposes to club digital media and newspapers under one umbrella. Under this bill, digital platforms will have to apply for registration.
The bill, which is yet to be taken up by Cabinet, proposes to include "news on digital media through any electronic device".
If the new law is implemented, then the digital news publishers will have to apply for registration and will be required to do so within 90 days of the law coming into effect.
Digital publishers will need to register with the Press Registrar General, who will have powers to act against various publications for violations and who can suspend or cancel registrations and impose penalties.
Notably, digital media has never been under any law or regulation so far. The amendments will bring digital media under the control of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry as the administrative ministry.
Currently, the Registrar of Newspapers, a statutory body of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting regulates and monitors the printing and publication of newspapers in the country.
Earlier, the central government had put forward a draft Registration of Press and Periodicals Bill in 2019 that defined news on digital media as "news in a digitised format that can be transmitted over the internet, computer or mobile networks and includes text, audio, video and graphics".
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