Broadcast Bill: Why Does Govt Want to Censor Influencers in the First Place?

Draft Broadcast Bill withdrawn; creators welcome move, but concerns about content freedom remain.

After massive backlash from digital news broadcasters, content creators, and social media influencers, the government of India has reportedly 'withdrawn' the draft of the new Broadcast Bill which was leaked in the public domain.

The draft Bill was shared by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting with select stakeholders, including streaming services and major tech firms, a move that was strongly criticised by the content creators and digital news portals.

Welcoming the reported withdrawal, Nikhil Pahwa, founder of Medianama who had accessed the contents of the leaked draft Bill said that it should not have existed in the first place and that the government's step back does not mean that the citizens' right to create and consume content is still not under attack.

Pahwa also questioned the secrecy around the Bill and the rationale behind sending it to select stakeholders.

"From the statement that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued on Twitter, it appeared like they have gone back to the previous draft (of November 2023), and will continue to do closed door consultations with the industry till 15 October. This suggests that there's no plan for a public consultation, and the Bill can be expected to be tabled in the Winter Session of Parliament," Pahwa said in a statement.