New Delhi: Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has said the Centre is working on a bill to regulate digital media.
The minister, while speaking at an event organised by Hindi news daily Mahanagar Times on Wednesday, pointed out the one-way communication of news earlier and said ‘with the development of electronic and digital media, communication of news has become multi-dimensional.’
Now even small news of a village reaches the national platform through digital media, he said.
In a statement, Thakur said the government has left most of the print, electronic, and digital media to self-regulation.
“Digital media presents opportunities as well as challenges. To have a fine balance, the government will see what can be done on this. I would say that changes have to be brought in law, we will bring that to make your work simple and easy. We are working to introduce a bill,” the minister said, as reported by news agency PTI.
He added that the process of registration of newspapers will be simplified and the central government will soon bring a new law to replace the 1867 Press and Registration of Books Act.
Under the new law, it will be possible to complete the registration process, which now takes about four months, in a week through online mode.
The minister also urged the media to do its work “responsibly” and avoid creating an atmosphere of “fear and confusion.”
(With input from agency)
