Broadcasting Bill 2023 relies too much on delegated legislation: Industry bodies to MIB

Multiple industry bodies and civil societies criticised the Broadcasting Services Bill for relying too much on delegated legislation, having ambiguous definitions, creating a pre-censorship regime through pre-certification of content, and not distinguishing between streaming services and traditional broadcasters among a host of other issues, according to RTI documents made public by digital rights organisation Internet Freedom Foundation on Tuesday. NBDA also said that OTT broadcasting services and digital transmissions are “fundamentally not Broadcasting services”, and that both are already regulated under IT Rules. Access Now said that the bill has “unreasonable limitations on free expression; enhances government control over online content without independent oversight and safeguards; hampers free flow of information on the internet --- the lifeblood of democracy in the digital age; and significantly curbs press freedom, including by making news and current affairs content subject to content regulation measures applicable to other types of content”. All industry bodies, including USIBC, IAMAI and BIF said that the bill did not distinguish between streaming services and other conventional types of broadcasting, something they said are regulated differently across the world.