Press Club of India asks Centre to withdraw laws aimed at curbing freedom of press
Babushahi Bureau
New Delhi, June 16, 2024: Strongly opposing the possible censorship, the Press Club of India has urged the central government to withdraw laws that might aimed at curbing the freedom of the press.The resolution in this regard was passed by the PCI on June 14 following the meeting held on May 28.
The resolution is endorsed by several senior members of the news industry, including Gurbir Singh, Chairman of the Press Club of Mumbai, Umesh Sharma, Secretary Press Club of Chandigarh, Balbir Singh Jhandu, Secretary of the Indian Journalist Union and Dhanya Rajendran, Chairperson of the DIGIPUB Foundation and others.
Click the link to read the complete resolution: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j0KTPuYbNUjPCD6BIfK_OahTKMVtU_lf/view?usp=sharing
“The sweeping provisions under laws such as the proposed Broadcast Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023, and more importantly, the Information Technology Amendment Rules, 2023, which grant authority to the government to remove any online content pertaining to its business that it deems to be false or misleading, are meant to silence the press,” read the joined statement.
The government will have to ensure that the proposed future laws should not impede press freedom, while upholding the right to privacy of citizens. The existing laws and future legislations should not be leveraged to block or take down legitimate news content across platforms, viz, print, television and internet," the statement.