MIB adds new provisions to draft broadcasting bill

The government has added a new provision to the Draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill that grants the central government power to direct any internet service provider or social media company to take “appropriate action for implementation” of the Bill, the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) told stakeholders in its presentation during the consultation on July 9. In the same presentation, the MIB also acknowledged that for stakeholders, the impact of the inclusion of OTT and digital news services was the major point of concern in the bill.

The Bill was released for public consultation on November 10. In the July 9 meeting, the I&B secretary had told senior officials to share the updated draft with stakeholders to receive comments by July 31 but the draft has not been shared thus far.

In the July 9 presentation, the discussion the same day and an email sent on June 3 (after the May 29 meeting), the MIB made it clear that there is a difference between linear broadcasters and on-demand broadcasting services that the Bill recognises by allowing for different programme and advertising codes for them. The MIB will also review the existing programme and advertising codes, and all new codes will be framed only after due consultation.

MIB said that in the new draft, OTT and digital news broadcasters have been exempted from criminal penalties for failing to inform the government of reaching the prescribed threshold. Under the November draft, providing broadcasting services without registration or after its expiry attracted a fine of ₹10 lakh and/or a jail term of up to two years for a first offence, and a fine of ₹50 lakh and/or a jail term of up to five years for subsequent offences.

Unlike all other broadcasters in the bill who are required to register with the government, both OTT broadcasting services, and any person “who broadcasts news and current affairs programs” online, including through social media, have to provide an intimation to the central government of their operations if they have Indian subscribers or viewers above a to-be-defined threshold.

In the new draft, the MIB has also revised the definition of “broadcasting” to remove “one too many” and to include the word “textual” to include “textual content like scrolls”, the June 3 email said.

Streaming services will be recognised as “broadcasting services” instead of “broadcasting networks” in the new draft. Definitions of “publisher of news and current affairs content”, “publisher of online curated content”, “operator of OTT broadcasting services” and “digital news broadcaster” have also been included.

A concern mentioned in the July 9 presentation was related to the small teams “OTT and digital service broadcasters” — ranging from a single person to a very small team. “Reaching to the subscriber threshold of 10 lakhs etc. is not very high and they may also be subjected to the provisions of the draft Bill,” the concern read. The MIB said that it would be considered during the rulemaking process. Significantly, while acknowledging the concern, the MIB did not consider that digital news services may be similarly small.

The composition of the Content Evaluation Committee (CEC), which is required to pre-certify all content before it is broadcast, will be decided by the broadcasters in the updated draft. The certificates issued by the CEC will also no longer have any details that may identify the certifiers.

Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF), an industry body of TV broadcasters whose members include Star, Viacom 18, and Times Television Network amongst others, in February had recommended scrapping CEC altogether as it could lead to pre-censorship and was economically unfeasible.

The negative list, that is, content that will not require certification or vetting by the CEC, has been included in the updated draft. The then I&B secretary Apurva Chandra had mentioned it in November while introducing the bill but it was not a part of the November draft. In the new draft, programmes such as news and current affairs, programmes already certified by the CBFC, live events, etc. are part of this list.

In the new draft, to allay concerns around the independence and necessity of the Broadcast Advisory Council (BAC), which is supposed to take grievances not resolved by the self-regulatory bodies, the five members nominated by the central government from five ministries will not be allowed to vote.

OTT broadcasting services have also been exempted from carrying mandatory channels as was required under clause 6.

Some of the recommendations by Trai, such as the creation of a regulatory sandbox and a technology development fund for the broadcasting sector, and provisions for the obligations of broadcasting service providers for disaster management have also been included in the new draft.

In response to the concern about the bill’s reliance on over five dozen delegated legislations, the MIB said that they are “crucial to ensure flexibility and adaptability” of the rules to govern the broadcasting sector.

The November draft allowed the central government to make provision for regulation of services other than broadcasting services that are “intricately linked” to broadcasting networks or services. In the email, MIB explained that it was meant for regulation of “teleport, DSNG vans and other similar services and an illustration has been added in the draft Bill to remove any scope of ambiguity”.

In response to a suggestion that the state-owned Prasar Bharti should be subjected to the same regulations as other broadcasters, the MIB said that issues related to DD Free Dish are being examined separately by the MIB. Hindustan Times