The Editors Guild of India (EGI) has said that many provisions on the draft of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023 are “vague and excessively intrusive” and that it is “deeply concerned that the bill will therefore be adverse to the spirit of freedom of speech and freedom of press guaranteed by the constitution.”

In a representation to Anurag Thakur, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, the Editors Guild highlighted four main concerns:

– The draft outlines an overbearing system of self-regulation by mandating creating of content evaluation committees in ways that can allow the government to exercise a great degree of control on these bodies.

– The draft further allows the Union Government to monitor and block content by establishing a Broadcast Advisory Council, to be headed by a bureaucrat, and therefore create an over-arching censorship framework.

– The bill allows the government to regulate, or even prohibit the transmission of channels or programmes on vague grounds.

– Provisions that allow government excessive delegation of rule-making are also problematic as they lead to uncertainty for the stakeholders who may be impacted by the draft bill and prevent individuals from being fully informed so as to meaningfully engage in the consultation process.

In view of its concerns, the Editor’s Guild urged the Ministry to put the draft of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023 in abeyance and undertake meaningful consultation with all the stakeholders.