The government issued draft amendments to the IT Rules for regulating online news and current affairs content yesterday. I spoke to @jatingroverr and @distantvicinity at Mint on some key concerns. This amendment effectively reintroduces, through definitional expansion, elements that were earlier proposed in the draft #BroadcastingBill that was subsequently withdrawn following significant pushback from digital rights advocates, media professionals, and creators. By broadening the scope of who may be treated as a “publisher,” the government is looking to bring "intermediary" platforms like YouTube and users who comment on news and current affairs, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s (MIB) remit. This has important implications. The government oversight mechanism at the MIB could now take up complaints suo motu and issue directions, including blocking orders. The powers granted are broad and expansive. While framed as an extension of the existing framework applicable to digital news publishers and OTT platforms, the amendments effectively open the door to regulating independent commentators on news and current affairs, raising serious concerns around censorship and overreach. These concerns are not new. Already, constitutional challenges to the government oversight of media under Part III of the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021, have led to parts of the framework being stayed by courts. Another significant issue is the treatment of government guidance, advisories, SOPs, and clarifications as effectively binding and equivalent to law, with potential implications for #safeharbour if not followed. This represents an overreach of delegated executive power and sets a troubling legal precedent, while also creating significant compliance uncertainty for intermediaries. We are already seeing strong reactions online. If notified in its current form, the amendments are likely to face legal challenge. It would be prudent for the Ministry to reconsider both the necessity and the scope of these changes, given their potential impact on independent media and public discourse. @tqh_policy @GuhaDeepro