Three new legislations give the Union government power to censor news content, imperil encrypted communication, make it easier to shut down the Internet and intercept communications with minimal accountability. Leading experts expressed these views at a meeting organised on 20th December 2023 by Digipub, which represents over 60 digital news media, independent journalists, and commentators.
These legislations include the Telecommunications Bill of 2023, the draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill of 2023, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023. The Lok Sabha passed the Telecom Bill on 20 December 2023 and the Rajya Sabha on 21 December 2023, and it will become an Act after the President’s assent.
Anything can be censored under the new Bill
The legislation, aimed at regulating online content, including news, was “extremely broad” and “vague”, said Ritu Kapur, CEO and co-founder of The Quint. She pointed out that there is currently a “complete lack of clarity” on what can lead to punishment, interception, investigation, inquiry, or censorship. She added that the provision for content evaluation committees (CECs) in the draft broadcasting bill, asking broadcasters to broadcast only those programmes self-certified through these CECs, would be difficult for news media to follow. “There is a reason news organisations have editors,” said Ritu Kapur. “Why do we need this content evaluation committee?” she asked.
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