The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Thursday suggested media entities, media platforms and on-line commercial intermediaries to chorus from carrying commercials/ promotional content material of betting platforms.
In an advisory issued at present, the Ministry has taken sturdy exception to the latest situations of mainstream English and Hindi newspapers carrying commercials and promotional content material of betting web sites. The advisory has been issued to all media codecs, together with newspapers, tv channels, and on-line information publishers, and confirmed particular examples the place such commercials have just lately appeared within the media.
The Ministry has additionally objected to the promotion by a particular betting platform encouraging the viewers to look at a sports activities league on its web site, which prima facie seems to be in violation of the Copyright Act, 1957.
While emphasizing on the authorized obligation in addition to the ethical responsibility of the media, the advisory refers to provisions of the Norms of Journalistic Conduct of the Press Council which, interalia, mentions that “newspapers should not publish an advertisement containing anything which is unlawful or illegal…………”, and additional that “the newspapers and periodicals should scrutinize the advertisement inputs from ethical as well as legal angles in view of the editor’s responsibility for all contents including advertisement, under Section 7 of PRB Act, 1867. Revenue generation alone cannot and should not be the sole aim of the Press, juxtaposed much larger public responsibility”.
The Ministry had earlier issued advisories within the months of June and October 2022 stating that betting and playing are unlawful, and therefore direct or surrogate commercials of such actions fall foul of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Press Council Act 1978, Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and different related statutes.
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