The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) expresses grave concern over the new Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediary and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, for not only shall it increase censorship and impact press freedom but that the Rules exercise powers far beyond the parent legislation for digital news media.

The Rules, a move to regulate social media platforms, as announced on Thursday, shall greatly impinge on the right to free speech and expression and will impact the independent functioning of digital/online media and its duty to keep the public better informed. In its applicable entities, the rules include “publishers of news and current affairs content”; and “intermediaries which primarily enable the transmission of news and current affairs content”; and “publishers of online curated content”.

This, according to the Internet Freedom Foundation, is an illegal and unconstitutional extension of executive power to regulate online news media and video streaming platforms. In fact, it even termed it as a “Chinese model of online surveillance and censorship”.  

In a statement, IJU President and former Member of Press Council of India Geetartha Pathak and Secretary General and International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Vice President Sabina Inderjit expressed concern over the fact that the government held no prior consultation with the digital players and has simply thrust the Rules, which it claims were needed to hold social media and other companies accountable for “misuse and abuse”. However, the IJU cautions that the government is off the mark when it includes digital news media under the Rules, as news is different from sites that host user-generated content.  

The IJU, said that the government’s intent to control media was very obvious and that these guidelines were a mere tool to regulate online media. The IJU demands the Modi government re-examine these, hold discussions with stake holders and get Parliament approval.