I&B Ministry
News broadcasters push back as MIB’s landing page proposal may create turbulence
MUMBAI: India’s broadcast heavyweights have mounted a firm resistance to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s proposed rule change on landing pages, arguing that the plan is legally shaky, technically confused and commercially stacked against the industry.
News18, NDTV, Times Now and other major networks have told the Ministry that the amendment deserves to be scrapped altogether. Their submissions note that the proposal attempts to revive a measurement method that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had already studied and rejected in 2018 for being unreliable. With the issue currently before the Supreme Court, broadcasters say any fresh intervention now breaches basic principles of administrative fairness.
At the heart of the dispute lies the belief that landing page viewership is somehow suspicious. Broadcasters counter this view, insisting that landing pages act as legitimate promotional real estate, no different from a newspaper jacket or a supermarket’s prime shelf. When a TV set turns on and a viewer decides either to stay or switch away, they argue that this choice represents genuine viewing behaviour, not inflated numbers.
Removing first impressions, they warn, would wipe out real audience actions and twist the ratings picture. TRAI had raised the same concern in 2018, concluding that genuine impressions would be wrongly filtered out.
Industry bodies have added their voice to the chorus. The All India Digital Cable Federation has urged the Ministry to leave current practice intact, while several regional and smaller broadcasters have filed similar objections. The opposition, they say, stretches far beyond a few big brands.
With the sector unified in its stance, broadcasters have urged the Ministry to withdraw the proposal and preserve the current ratings framework. Only then, they argue, can India’s TV market retain a fair contest, clear metrics and a true reflection of what viewers actually choose to watch.
I&B Ministry
IT Rules tweaks are clarificatory, not expansion of powers: MeitY
Govt signals flexibility as platforms push for clarity on user content rules
NEW DELHI: The Centre has sought to dial down concerns over its proposed amendments to the IT Rules, with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology secretary S Krishnan asserting that the changes are intended as clarifications rather than an expansion of regulatory powers.
Pushing back against criticism from platforms and civil society, S Krishnan said the amendments “do not in any way actually give us wider powers” and are meant to remove ambiguity in how existing provisions are applied. He added that the trigger came largely from within the ecosystem, with intermediaries themselves seeking clearer guidance on compliance, takedowns and record preservation.
At the heart of the debate is the growing friction between platforms and policymakers over responsibility for user-generated content. Intermediaries have argued that they should not be treated on par with publishers, particularly when content is created and uploaded by users. Krishnan acknowledged this concern, noting that “a sharper distinction” between user content and publisher content is needed and is currently under examination.
The issue becomes more complex in enforcement scenarios. While registered publishers can be directly asked to modify or remove content, intermediaries often lack control over the original creator. “In such cases, the intermediary cannot direct those changes,” Krishnan explained, underlining the need for procedural nuance.
Another key proposal under discussion is to bring user-generated news and current affairs content within a more unified regulatory ambit, potentially under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The move follows suggestions that a single authority should handle such content, regardless of whether it originates from a publisher or an individual user.
Even as the government frames the amendments as a tidy-up exercise, fault lines remain. Industry players have flagged concerns over compliance burdens, especially for smaller businesses, and questioned whether advisories could effectively become binding without explicit legislative backing. Krishnan said the government is mindful of these risks and is exploring ways to ease obligations, including possible relaxations under certain provisions.
The ministry is also considering consolidating multiple advisories and guidelines into a more structured framework, a step widely seen as addressing long-standing confusion over what platforms are expected to follow.
On takedowns, the government has reiterated that due process will remain unchanged. Krishnan stressed that actions will continue to be governed by established procedures, with reasons recorded and review mechanisms in place. He also pointed to the surge in deepfakes and synthetic media as a factor behind rising content disputes, calling it a “scale challenge” for regulators.
Interestingly, Krishnan also framed social media platforms as commercial entities rather than pure vehicles of free expression, hinting at a broader shift in regulatory thinking as platform economics come into sharper focus.
With stakeholders seeking more time and, in some cases, a rollback of the proposals, the government has kept the consultation process open-ended. Krishnan said further revisions remain on the table, signalling a willingness to adapt the draft based on feedback.
For now, the message from MeitY is clear: the rules may not be tightening in intent, but the effort to define them more clearly is well underway.
