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Parliamentary Panel to review media laws, fake news challenges on September 24
Officials from Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Electronics & IT will depose before the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
Parliamentary Panel stresses the importance of stronger self-regulation by news organisations and digital publishers through the establishment of internal fact-checking mechanisms and ombudsmen.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, chaired by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, will meet on September 24 to deliberate on the implementation of laws related to all forms of media and the growing challenge of misinformation.
Officials from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) and the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) are scheduled to provide evidence before the panel.
The committee’s findings will be tabled in the upcoming winter session of Parliament.
The discussions could range from fake news and paid news to the challenges posed by sensationalism in TV channels, and the decline of traditional newspapers amid digital disruption.
The panel could also examine the role of media trials in shaping public opinion and affecting ongoing legal proceedings.
The committee may revisit the trajectory of media regulation- from the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 to the more recent Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023- and assess the functioning of the Press Council of India (PCI), the statutory watchdog created under the 1978 Act.
It is to be noted that the meeting follows the committee’s recent adoption of a draft report on fake news and misinformation, which it described as a “global challenge” threatening democracy, public order, markets, and the credibility of media.
Last week, the Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology flagged serious concerns over the Safe Harbour provisions applicable to social media intermediaries in its draft report on fake news. The report provided a detailed analysis of how the existing regulatory framework has failed to keep pace with the growing menace of fake news, particularly on platforms like Facebook, Twitter (now X), Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp.
The Committee called for a mandatory fact-checking mechanism and internal ombudsman in all print, digital and electronic media organisations. The report is likely to be presented in the Parliament during the Winter Session.
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In its draft report on the “Review of Mechanism to Curb Fake News,” the committee also had observed that fake news, while not a new phenomenon, has proliferated rapidly with the rise of digital communication technologies. The committee noted that the misuse of social media and digital platforms by “anti-social and anti-India actors” has turned misinformation into a serious threat to governance, public trust, and even national security.
The report stressed that curbing misinformation requires a multi-pronged strategy- combining regulation, technology, fact-checking, education, and global partnerships- while also safeguarding freedom of speech and press.
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