No plan for separate law to regulate digital media, Modi government says

There is currently no proposal for a separate law to regulate digital media, the Narendra Modi government informed the parliament on Friday.

Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the deputy information technology minister, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, suggested that digital media would continue to be governed for now by the Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules of 2021.

The response contradicts information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur’s statement last month that the government was drafting a bill to regulate digital media.

Speaking in Jaipur, Thakur had said the government “will see what can be done” to have a “fine balance” in dealing with the opportunities and challenges presented by the digital media. “I would say that changes have to be brought into law and we will bring that to make your work simple and easy. We are working to introduce a bill,” he was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

The IT Rules of 2021 are highly contentious. To understand why, see Newslaundry’s coverage.

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