No Jurisdiction Over Electronic Media, TV Channels, Social Media : Press Council Of India Clarifies

The Press Council of India clarified that it has no jurisdiction over electronic media, TV news channels, social media i.e. Whatsapp/twitter/Facebook.

"Electronic media, TV news channels, social media i.e. Whatsapp/ twitter/Facebook do not come under the jurisdiction of the Press Council of India", the press watchdog said in a press release.

Referring to Section 14 of the Press Council of India Act, it said that it can exercise powers over a news paper or news agency.

Section 14 of the Press Council Act,1978, empowers the Council to warn, admonish or censure the newspaper, the news agency, the editor or the journalist concerned or disapprove the conduct of the editor or the journalist if it finds that a newspaper or a news agency has offended against the standards of journalistic ethics or public taste or that an editor or a working journalist has committed any professional misconduct.

Complaints against and by the print media are adjudicated by the Council by adhering to the Press Council (Procedure for Inquiry) Regulations, 1979.  

Justice C K Prasad, former Supreme Court judge, is the current Chairperson of the PCI.

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