Backstory:Â From âPartly Unfreeâ to âFully Unfreeâ? The New IT Rules Could Hasten the Slide
A fortnightly column from The Wire s public editor.
Photo: Athul Cyriac Ajay/Unsplash
Tech13/Mar/2021
The two Union ministers, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar, who had jointly unveiled the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, at a press conference on February 25, are today hard at work trying to defuse the blowback.
Barely had the import of their exertions sunk in within the country, when uncomfortable news flowed in from without. In early March, the US-based Freedom House report lowered Indiaâs rank from a âfreeâ to a âpartly freeâ country followed by Swedenâs V-Dem Institute, that had once ranked India as the âworldâs largest democracyâ, now considering it an âelectoral autocracyâ. The decline in the standards of media freedom in India was a major para
NEW DELHI: In an interaction with members of the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) on Thursday, information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar said the new digital media rules would create a level playing field for all forms of media, including publishers who cover news on digital platforms only.
During a video conference with DNPA members representing the Times of India, India Today, Dainik Bhaskar, Hindustan Times, Indian Express, ABP, Eenadu, Dainik Jagran and Lokmat among others, Javadekar said the new rules placed certain responsibilities on digital news publishers, which included adherence to a Code of Ethics on the lines of norms of journalistic conduct framed by the Press Council of India and the Programme Code under the Cable Television Network Act.
No cause for panic, new media rules will benefit all: Javadekar
India
Published: Friday, March 12, 2021, 9:08 [IST]
New Delhi, Mar 12: Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar held an interaction through Video Conference with representatives of Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) in the backdrop of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Representatives were from India Today, Dainik Bhaskar, Hindustan Times, Indian Express, Times of India, ABP, Eenadu, Dainik Jagran, Lokmat, etc.
Addressing the participants, Javadekar informed that the new rules placed certain responsibilities on digital news publishers. These include adherence to Code of Ethics such as the norms of journalistic conduct framed by the Press Council of India and the Programme Code under the Cable Television Network Act.
Traditional media firms ask Centre to treat their websites differently from digital-only outfits
Digital news organisations like ‘The Wire’ and ‘The News Minute’, who have challenged the rules to regulate digital news, were not invited for the talks. Updated Mar 12, 2021 · 11:01 am A file photo of Union minister Prakash Javadekar. | PTI
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday held a meeting with members of the Digital News Publishers Association amid criticism for not consulting stakeholders before bringing in the new Information Technology rules.
According to a statement from the I&B ministry, representatives from India Today,
Dainik Bhaskar,
, Dainik Jagran, and
He stated that the DNPA welcomed the new digital media rules.
12 Mar, 2021 - 08:32 AM IST | By indiantelevision.com Team
KOLKATA: Information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday held a meeting with the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) to discuss new rules for digital media.
“In a follow up to meeting with OTT platforms, held an interaction with Digital News Publishers Association today. Discussed new rules for digital media. They welcomed the new rules and offered few suggestions which I have noted (sic),” the minister tweeted.
According to an official statement released post the interaction, Javadekar informed the association that the new rules placed certain responsibilities on digital news publishers. These include adherence to Code of Ethics such as the norms of journalistic conduct framed by the Press Council of India and the Programme Code under the Cable Television Network Act. Further, to redress grievances of citi