India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has withdrawn a flagship bill after criticism that it would require online content creators to register and be subject to the same laws as broadcasters.

The Ministry Xeeted that feedback on the Draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) bill, which was made public in November 2023, had led it to conduct "a series of consultations with the stakeholders."

"Further additional time is being provided to solicit comments/suggestions till 15 October, 2024. A fresh draft will be published after detailed consultations," wrote MIB.

Those consultations reportedly numbered all of four - all of which allegedly took place behind closed doors and involved only select representatives of industry.

Local media reported that it's not clear whether the bill will be redrafted or completely rewritten - but that watermarked copies of the latest version had been distributed so that any leaks on its content could be traced back to the leaker. The Ministry reportedly asked for all of those watermarked copies to be returned in late July and has not released their contents to the public.

Media that claimed to have seen the latest version alleged that it seeks to regulate entities that accept advertising and provides guidelines for intermediaries on which programs they broadcast, in addition to classifying content creators as broadcasters. India is sensitive about certain types of content - often pertaining to religious matters - that are felt to be either a risk to national security or offensive.

Classifying content creators as broadcasters, would render government registration mandatory for YouTubers, podcasters, live-streamers and others who meet government-defined thresholds. Those content creators would also have to pre-certify their material through an internal Content Evaluation Committee (CEC) and appoint staff to handle complaints.

All compliance chores would be done in creators' own time - a significant impost. The draft released in November 2023 required CECs to include "members from various social groups, including women, child welfare, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, minorities, and others" - which frankly is either a lot of salaries or a lot of volunteers.

Penalties for non-compliance defined in the draft included criminal charges and fines of up ₹25 million ($298,000)

"Despite several rounds of discussions with industry representatives, stakeholders continued to express a lack of clarity on whether obligations applicable to broadcasters and streaming platforms will be applied to individuals posting news content on social media and to influencers posting non-news content," wrote [PDF] Indian non-profit Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF).

The org announced it has requested a "broad-based, public consultation on the revised bill given its grave implications."

IFF co-founder Apar Gupta celebrated reports of the bill's delay on Monday.

He called those that had fought against the bill "a broad coalition of diverse individuals, groups and organizations who have stood up and asked the government for transparency and contested political censorship."

Among others, that coalition included 785 Indian creators who signed a letter to the government asking for less ambiguity in the bill, as well as an army of content creators that did what they do best. In this case, that means working under specific hashtags (#KillTheBill and #ContentBachao) to influence, make videos and get the message out.

Still, many questions remain, as it's expected a fresh draft won't emerge for two months. ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/08/14/indian_government_bins_tech_bill/