Is all-encompassing media law desirable or possible?
There’s no doubt that we need some regulation. We need media laws, even international media laws. I am not worried about the lag because law will come about anyway. I am interested in the law itself does it enable the media to develop or doesit prevent innovations. The second kind of law is hardly desirable. How have successive Indian governments fared? By and large, the track record is of sheer inertia, which allows media to develop in any manner. On satellite television, there’s no doubt that India needs a more established legal system. There has to be a policy for licensing satellite channels. The government has intervened in cable television but it’s not necessarily good for growth. The main area of control for the government remains the terrestrial network, and this cuts both ways. On the Internet, it’s still neutral and positive, maybe by default. Can the Net be subjected to a legal system? Again, different countries are trying out different techniques. One is to ensure that all
