Government Prepares National Mass Communication Bill to Modernize Sector

Kathmandu. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has made public the concept paper prepared with the objective of making the mass communication sector timely, integrated, and accountable, and has started preparing the National Mass Communication Bill. The ministry has stated that it is moving forward with the necessary preparations with the goal of registering the said bill in the parliament within the current financial year.

The concept paper, which has been made public, mentions that a new integrated law is necessary to effectively implement the freedom of thought and expression, right to communication, and right to information guaranteed by the constitution, and to address the rapid development of information technology, the expansion of digital and online media, and the diversification of the broadcasting sector. For this, it is proposed to bring a single umbrella law by replacing the Press and Publication Related Act, 2048, the National Broadcasting Act, 2049, and the Working Journalists Act, 2051, which are currently in practice. According to the ministry, it is not possible to meet the current needs by simply amending these acts, hence a new integrated law is necessary.