The Union government brings online media under the ambit of section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act that gives takedown powers to the government. The new guideline is set to treat online news media publishers at par with traditional media publishers, such as newspapers and news channel.
Digital media will cover digitised content that can be transmitted over the internet or computer networks. It includes intermediaries such as Twitter, Facebook and publishers of news and current affairs content. It also includes so-called curators of such content. As per the guidelines titled Guidelines for intermediaries and digital media ethics code Rules 2021, digital news media publishers should follow rules that apply to print and electronic media.
Publishers of news and current affairs content will cover online papers, news portals, news agencies, and news aggregators. Newspapers and TV news channels are governed under the Press Council of India Act 1978 and Cable Television Networks Regulation Act 1995 respectively. With the new guidelines coming into effect, these acts will also be applicable to online news and current affairs portals under the Code of Ethics.
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