Members of the Digital News Publishers' Association released a code of ethics on October 17. Much like the code of conduct adopted recently by streaming services and digital companies, the DNPA's ethics code relies entirely on the compliance of its members in good faith. "The object of this Code is to outline high standards, ethics and practices in digital news publishing, and does not constitute any attempt to involve itself in the day to day operations of the publishers — who have complete editorial and content independence," the code takes care to mention. The DNPA was announced in September 2018, and despite its name, is composed of traditional media outlets like news channels and newspapers for members. The release of the ethics code came a day after the government handed DNPA members a business victory by limiting the direct foreign investment (FDI) a digital news media company, including aggregators, can get to 26%. This move essentially made it as difficult for digital-only publications to raise funds from abroad as it has been for traditional media. It's not clear what was the impetus to create this code. It may be that the government's affidavit in the Supreme Court calling for regulation of online news media made publishers seek to insulate themselves from government regulation. It is also possible that the code is an outcome of scrutiny into media ethics following the media circus surrounding the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Follow the law: The main condition — just like in the…
