Govt. forms committee to regulate news portals

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has instituted a committee to regulate online portals, including news websites, entertainment sites and media aggregators.

The 10-member committee, formed on Wednesday, will include secretaries of the departments of Home, Legal Affairs, Electronics and Information and Technology, and Industrial Policy and Promotion. The CEO of MyGov and a representative each of the Press Council of India and National Broadcasters’ Association will also be part of the committee.

In its order, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting noted that both print and electronic media are regulated but online media does not come under the ambit of regulatory mechanism.

The content telecast on television channels are regulated in terms of the programme and advertisement codes under the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994. Similarly, the autonomous body Press Council of India regulates the print media.

The committee, broadly, will look at three things. One is to bring online information dissemination under regulation. Second is to propose a policy for foreign direct investment in this media. Third is to look at international best practices on such existing regulatory mechanism.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani had announced on Twitter that her ministry was working on bringing online news too under regulation mechanism. The ministry has been consulting both National Broadcasters’ Association and Press Council of India for over a month on the issue.