By Niraj Sharma

With the government mandating the provision of a Content Evaluation Committee to be set up by broadcasters in the proposed Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023, the broadcast industry termed it a form of pre-censorship.

The CEC will encompass all the platforms including OTT and the broadcasters are concerned that the government will have more control over the content.

However, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is of the view that comparing CEC with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) or calling it pre-censorship is a distortion by some people.

“CEC is a form of self-regulation as it will be constituted by the broadcaster, who will appoint its members of their own choice. CEC is just a layer to ensure transparency at the broadcaster’s end. The government is keeping itself at arm's length from any possible interference by suggesting a CEC,” Shankar added.

With rising concerns related to the objectionable depiction of incidents or usage of language, people sought to bring TV and OTT content under CBFC or any other similar institution. People argued that by the time self-regulation or any government intervention comes in, the damage is already done.

The joint secretary said that the CEC would be better placed to address this issue as it puts the onus on the broadcasters.

When asked if the requirement of CEC will be at the network level or channel level, Shankar said that it has been left to the broadcasters to decide.

There will be a negative list in CEC where a few genres will be exempted. For example, LIVE programmes. Movies could be another genre exempted from CEC as they already carry CBFC certification.

Broadcast industry veterans flagged that already TV entertainment was reduced to saas-bahu and the broadcasters were largely refraining from experimenting with their content due to regulatory burdens.

Read the full story https://bestmediainfo.com/2023/11/cec-broadcast-advisory-council-to-strengthen-selfregulation-ib-ministry