The Big Picture: Regulating News on Digital Platforms

The Information & Broadcasting Ministry has proposed to introduce a new set of regulations to replace the archaic Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act, 1867 that governs the registration of print and publishing industry in the country. Through the draft Registration of Press and Periodicals (RPP) Bill, 2019, the Ministry has proposed to bring digital media in the new registration regulations’ ambit, do away with prosecution provisions of imprisonment of publishers and to simplify implementation of the registration process through a newly-created Press Registrar General. It has therefore proposed to remove existing requirements of furnishing of declaration by publishers and printers before the District Magistrate and its subsequent authentication. The draft Bill states that, “publishers of news on digital media shall register themselves with the Registrar of Newspapers of India”. In addition, it is proposing a simple system of registration of e-papers. It defines news on digital media as the news in digitised format that can be transmitted over the internet, computer or mobile networks and includes text, audio, video and graphics. On this edition of The Big Picture we will analyse how and should digital news be regulated.

Anchor: Frank Rausan Pereira
Producer: Sagheer Ahmad

Guest Name:
Alok Verma, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, NYOOOZ.COM, NYOOOZ TV

Anurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, Exchange4media

Shekhar Iyer, Senior Journalist

Prafulla Ketkar, Editor, Organiser

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