An online news portal must obey the new Information Technology Rules 2021 (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) issued by the Government of India.
The rules were drafted under the IT Act of 2000 and will supersede the 2011 standards for internet intermediaries. The rule is introduced to regulate the giant social media intermediaries and online news portals.
The digital news portals and social media platforms were required to follow the new guidelines strictly within three months which ended on 25th May 2021.
On the next day, that is on May 26, the government sent a new notice to social media platforms requesting information regarding the state of compliance with the new guidelines that took effect on that date.
The Central Ministry asked online news publishers to provide information such as their website URL, social media accounts, mobile apps, information about news editors, contact information, the company’s identification number and other details, and details about their grievance redressal mechanism in the notice.
How These New Rules Will Regulate Online News Portal?
Previously, the intermediary rules did not cover the OTT or online news media. But now, if they have a physical presence in the country, they are bound to bey the rules. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) oversees even the code of conduct for all the news publishers.
Every news publication is required to obey a strict grievance redressal system and establish a self-regulatory mechanism under the guidelines. They must assign a grievance redressal officer who must react to a grievance within 15 days and make a decision.
Things to Know Before Building an Online News Portal
News portals are visited by users from all over the world. They provide news regarding various things. To have your own digital news portal you need the expertise of web developers offering news portal development services.
Therefore, once you are familiar with the guidelines, you must find a top website developer in India. They will help you to build an online news website and run it properly complying with the new rules.
News website publishers can post blogs, articles, press releases, and the latest news about anything. Indian web developers can deliver the services in the most affordable packages.
The number of online news portals is increasing day by day. Therefore, to make your website stand out, the site has to be unique. This uniqueness is not only limited to the content of the site.
Even the logo design of the news website should be unique. The best logo designers in India can help you to have a distinct brand identity through logo design.
Related Topic: Importance of a Professional Logo Design to Business
New IT Rules to Regulate Online News Portal in Short
The new IT rules will give the government over the digital news portals, OTTs, and social media platforms. This will make the news portals operate more responsibly.