What’s the news: The ‘Print and Digital Media Association’ (PADMA) has been registered as a Level-II Self Regulatory Body (SRB) for publishers of news and current affairs content, said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) on December 2, 2022. With this, the MIB has now approved nine SRBs since May 2021, under Rule 12 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. SRB composed of a judge and two journalists As per a press release shared by the MIB, the PADMA's composition as an SRB on the date of registration is as follows: Justice Mool Chand Garg, Former High Court Judge - Chairperson Ashok Kumar Tandon, Senior Bureaucrat and Journalist - Member Manoj Kumar Mishra, Senior Journalist and Writer - Member “Any change in the composition of the body and/or the membership of the publishers shall be informed to the Ministry as soon as such change takes place,” said the press release. PADMA will look into the redressal of grievances related to the Code of Ethics under the IT Rules, 2021. The body will ensure that member publishers agree to adhere to the provisions of the IT Rules, 2021, including providing information under Rule 18. Why it matters: While the Ministry continues to bring in more SRBs, it still hasn’t issued clear guidelines on how an organisation can obtain approval. For instance, the DIGIPUB News India Foundation had to follow-up with the Ministry for months before becoming an SRB. The government also needs to…
