Regulating Free Speech

Regulating free speech

The Supreme Court’s sole focus at the hearing was news channels, and specifically whether the government intended to ask for blacking out of television channels that risk communalizing public debate and encourage hate politics.

Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995

Federal law often only prohibits certain speech, allowing anything else. The Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, and section 20 states that the government can regulate or prohibit the transmission or retransmission of any programme that it feels is not in conformity with the Programme and Advertising Code, which oversees television content in India.

The Programme and Advertising Codes are implemented by a body called the Cable Television Association of India (CTAI), which maintains guidelines to be followed during broadcasting.

If programmes are out of compliance with these guidelines simply for entertainment purposes and will not cause serious public harm (such as inciting violence), they will not be in violation of the Section 20 of the Cable TV Network Act.

Safeguards provided under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act

The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act has laws that prohibit the broadcasting of programmes that violated program and advertising codes, as well as a complete channel, in the public interest.

The government is empowered under the Act to prohibit transmission of programmes that violate the programme or advertising codes (Section 19) and even an entire channel, in public interest (Section 20).

In the past, channels have been asked by the I&B Ministry to take some programmes off the air.

Depending on the damage done to individuals or institutions, or even society at large, there is enough scope for action under the penal law.

The government has the authority to take action against channels that are in violation of programme and advertising codes; however, the government rarely censors TV content."