New Delhi, June 12: All mainstream media, including print and electronic, will have to comply the provisions of IT Rules, 2021 with immediate effect without exemption as the government has refused to exempt them from the ambit of the new digital media rules.
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has said that the rationale for bringing the websites of the organisations under the ambit of the law is "well-reasoned".
Noting that code of ethics requires such digital platforms to follow the exiting norms or content regulations, which are in vogue for the traditional print and TV media, the Ministry said, there is no additional regulatory burden for such entities.
Accordingly, it said, the request for exempting the digital news content of such organisations from the ambit of digital media rules 2021 cannot be acceded to. It does recognise that entities having traditional TV and print media are already registered with the government either under the Press and Registration Books Act or the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines of 2011.
The digital version/digital publication of the organisations having traditional news platforms (TV and print) may be following internal guidelines of the self-regulatory bodies.
The Ministry further said that the publishers may furnish the requisite information in the prescribed format immediately, take urgent steps for appointing a grievance officer, if not done, and place all relevant details in the public domain, constitute self-regulatory bodies through mutual consultation so that the grievances are addressed at the level of publishers or the self-regulating bodies themselves.
It further added that over 500 publishers have already submitted their details in the requisite format.
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