Imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever | Broadcasting Services Bill
After capturing the mainstream media, the Modi Government has now turned its eye on independent content creators. These content creators, independent journalists, political commentators and satirists have long been a thorn in the side of the Narendra Modi. Over the last decade, as the mainstream media turned into a lapdog of the Government (Godi Media), and honest journalists were muzzled and driven out from their platforms, these content creators used their platform to speak truth to power. They have allowed us to see the truth, in an era where reality is hidden behind curtains and our access to information is being restricted. Truth is falsified, books are being rewritten, and propaganda reels are used to hide the reality of our crumbling nation. All in service of the Non-Biological Supreme Leader.
> Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.
It is important to note, that today it is the Government which is the largest purveyor of falsehood and fake news. Union Ministers openly claim that Modi stopped Russia-Ukraine War, or that no one died from hunger, or that no paper leak took place in seven years.
The journalists who dare to speak truth, are persecuted, raided, and imprisoned for years without bail. Even social media is not free of the Government's tyranny. Modi Government has often misused the law to take down content from Twitter and YouTube. Many accounts which were critical of the Government have been withheld. In January 2024, when protests erupted in Patna over Railway recruitment, the Government forced the YouTube to take down videos in the name of national security.
With the Broadcast Services bill, the Modi Government has set its sight on independent content creators on social media. The bill, which has been shrouded in secrecy, has been provided to select stakeholders, with unique watermarks.
Under this bill, all independent content creators, who discuss news and current affairs, will be classified as “digital news broadcasters”. It would include all textual, audio, visual, and live programs. It would apply to bloggers, podcasters, and even satirists on Twitter, living in India, or outside. It would also regulate social media intermediaries and advertising networks. Further, these “digital news broadcasters” will be subject to vague provisions, which can be selectively applied.
The Broadcasting Services Bill is the final nail in the coffin of the independent news. It is a devious scheme to muzzle free speech and suppress the reality.
Please raise your voice against this bill. Tweet with the hashtag #KillTheBill #ContentBachao #StopTheBroadcastBill
NOT the Broadcasting Bill, 2024.pdf - Google Drive
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How India’s Broadcast Bill will muzzle content creators
A licence raj for digital content creators - The Hindu
Private consultation: On the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023 - The Hindu
The Broadcast Bill says much about the BJP’s opaque lawmaking | The Indian Express
‘In national interest?’ YouTube blocks videos of job aspirants’ Patna protest citing govt diktat
How India tamed Twitter and set a global standard for online censorship - The Washington Post
Modi ramps up online censorship in India | RSF
Hindutva Watch becomes the latest victim of opaque internet censorship in India – The Leaflet
India farmers' protest: X admits to taking down posts and accounts