The Union Government is planning to renew a bill for the registration rules for newspapers including the digital news media industry, according to a report. Currently, digital news media is not included in the Centre’s registration framework.
Legal Act on Digital News
After making the necessary amendments to the Registration of Press and Periodicals Bill, 2019, the government will propose the bill before the cabinet soon. This new bill will replace the colonial-era Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 which regulates the newspaper and printing press industry in India currently.
The report further stated that if the bill is passed then the digital media will become proportionate to the newspaper industry in India. Then, the digital media have to register themselves to the Press Registrar General, equivalent to the prevalent Registrar of Newspapers in India. Presently, digital media platforms do not require such registrations.
In 2019, the government put out the draft bill in which it defined digital news media as news in a digitized form that can be transmitted over the internet through computers and smartphones and includes text, images, audio, and videos.
Back then, when the bill was proposed, it stirred the controversy that the central government is trying to control the digital news media. At that time, the center decided not to move further with the draft bill.
Now, the center has finalized with all the ministerial and stakeholders consultations that the bill will go to the union cabinet for approval after which it will be presented in the parliament.
The report also said that the bill will also consider the book publishing industry by removing all the existing rules regarding book registrations and related matters. The bill also proposes to decriminalize and simplify registration requirements and regulations
