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Narendra Modi’s government has withdrawn a draft broadcasting services bill after facing a backlash from online content creators and civil liberties groups, in a climbdown that analysts said was a stark reflection of its reduced parliamentary mandate.
India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting circulated a draft of the bill last month to a small number of stakeholders for feedback. Although the drafts were watermarked in an apparent attempt to prevent leaks, copies were shared in New Delhi that stirred concerns about its potential chilling effect on free speech and the compliance burden on online creators.
The ministry said late on Monday that it would provide “further additional time” to solicit comments and suggestions until October 15. “We have brought back the draft to look at suggestions that came in,” a government official, who asked not to be named, told the Financial Times.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party governed for two five-year terms with an outright majority, which allowed it to pass legislation with few challenges. But the party lost its majority in this year’s general election.
Analysts have said that popular commentators and satirists on YouTube and other platforms — some of whom had as many followers as subscribers to conventional media outlets — played a role in boosting opposition candidates and stripping the BJP of its majority.
“This is not the same government with the muscular majority that can pass bills without talking to coalition partners, stakeholders, and opposition parties,” said Apar Gupta, an expert on technology and media law. “[The government’s] legislative agenda is now something which cannot be dictated; it has to be done through trust.”
India, with one of the world’s biggest online markets and nearly 1bn internet users, began work on the bill in November before circulating the draft in July, shortly after Modi’s new government was sworn in.
According to three people who saw copies of the draft, the law was applicable not only to Indians but citizens of other countries, meaning its application could be global. Its remit also covered not just news and entertainment companies, but also individuals who provided news and entertainment as part of their business activity, they said.
More than 700 online content creators wrote an open letter to Ashwini Vaishnaw, the information and broadcasting minister, this month complaining about “opacity in the consultation process” over the bill.
The Asia Internet Coalition, an industry association whose members include YouTube owner Google and Meta, also wrote to Vaishnaw requesting the opportunity to provide feedback on the bill.
“The withdrawal of this secretive draft is welcome, but it should not have existed anyway,” said Nikhil Pahwa, founder and editor of Medianama, a publication focused on technology policy in India.
He added that the ministry’s statement suggested it had “gone back to the previous draft of November 2023, and will continue to do closed-door consultations”, meaning there was “no plan for a public consultation”.
This meant the bill could be brought to parliament during its winter session, he said.
