Centre Withdraws Draft Of Broadcasting Services Bill, Says 'Fresh Draft After Detailed Consultations'

The move to withdrawn the draft of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024 comes amid concerns among content creators as the bill sought to club them with OTT or digital news broadcasters.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday announced that a fresh draft of the proposed Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill will be published after detailed consultations with the stakeholders.

The move to withdraw the latest draft of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024 comes amid concerns among online content creators as the proposed law sought to club them with OTT or digital news broadcasters. 

"The draft Bill was placed in public domain on 10.11.2023 along with the explanatory notes for comments of the stakeholders and the general public. In response, multiple recommendations/ comments/ suggestions were received including from various Associations," the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a post on X.

The ministry is holding a series of consultations with the stakeholders on the draft bill, it said.

The Bill was released for consultations in November last year and a fresh draft was circulated among select stakeholders for their views. 

The government further said that further additional time is being provided to solicit comments and suggestions till October 15 and a fresh draft will be published after detailed consultations.

A version of the draft legislation sought to club online content creators with OTT and digital news broadcasters, bringing them under the ambit of the ministry’s Content and Advertisement Code. The provisions would have made it mandatory for individual online content creators to appoint a grievance redressal officer and a content evaluation committee once they crossed a certain number of subscribers.

The bill had received sharp reactions from a section of media representatives. 

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi last week, representatives of DigiPub News India Foundation, an organisation representing more than 90 digital news publishers, and the Editors Guild of India said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting held closed-door consultations with selective stakeholders and larger discussions with digital media organisations and associations of civil society have so far not taken place. They had written to the Ministry seeking copies of the draft Bill, but had not received any response.