Coming law could tag you a digital news broadcaster

The new version, the second draft of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024 is meant to replace the cable television networks act of 1995. HT has seen a copy of the bill which the government has shared with stakeholders.

It attempts to address the ambiguity created by the first draft (released for public consultation in November 2023) on this aspect by defining “professional"—a person engaged in an occupation or vocation—and “systematic activity" as “any structured or organized activity that involves an element of planning, method, continuity or persistence".

The new version also defines “news and current affairs programmes" to include “texts" apart from the existing “audio, visual or audio-visual content, sign, signals, writing, images" which are “transmitted directly or using a broadcasting network".

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These proposed provisions are part of a broader approach that includes a new digital news broadcasters category, new obligations for intermediaries and social media intermediaries related to streaming services and digital news broadcasters, and, in a major change from the last version circulated in 2023, provisions targeting online advertising.

General obligations for broadcasters and network operators now also include compliance with the government’s foreign direct investment policy and standard operating procedures during disasters and natural calamities, at par with how such regulations have existed for conventional broadcasters.

Under the bill, an “intermediary" is defined in the context of any programme to refer to “any person who on behalf of another person, subscriber or user hosts, receives, stores, displays or transmits that programme or provides any service with respect to that programme and includes social media intermediaries, advertisement intermediaries, internet service providers, online search engines and online market places".

It also allows the government to prescribe different due diligence guidelines for social media platforms and online advertisement intermediaries, and requires all intermediaries to “provide appropriate information, including information pertaining to the OTT broadcasters and Digital News Broadcasters on its platform" to the central government to ensure compliance with the Act.

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In the context of streaming services, OTT broadcasting services are no longer part of the definition of ‘internet broadcasting services’.

The definition of ‘OTT broadcasting service’, which is now also referred to as ‘publisher of online curated content’ to bring it in line with IT Rules 2021, has been revised to read “a broadcasting service where curated programmes, other than news and current affairs programme owned by, licensed to or contracted to be transmitted by a person, are made available on-demand or live, including but not limited to subscribers, though a website, social media intermediary, or any other online medium, as part of a systematic business, professional, or commercial activity".

“Curation" has been defined as “selection, organisation and presentation of online content or information using skill, experience or expert knowledge".

A crucial change pertains to provisions aimed at regulating online advertising by creating the advertising intermediaries category, which will include “an intermediary which primarily enables buying or selling of advertisement space on the internet or placement of advertisements on online platforms buying without itself endorsing the advertisement, and shall not include an advertiser or broadcaster as defined under the rules".

Provisions to tackle piracy have also been included, along with provisions to create regulatory sandbox.

Lack of intimation to the central government about their operations by streaming services and digital news broadcasters will no longer attract criminal penalties.

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