Kupwara district administration asks unregistered news portals to adhere to media rules

Srinagar, Nov 30 (PTI) The administration in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday directed all unregistered news portals to adhere to the Intermediatory Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules or face action under law.

The directions were issued by Kupwara Deputy Commissioner Ayushi Sudan under Section 144 of the CrPC.

The order requires all unregistered news portals/social media news portals and their owners/publishers, publishing news and current affairs content from the entire jurisdiction of the district to adhere to the Code of Ethics laid down in the appendix of Information Technology (Intermediatory Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

“The order shall come into force with immediate effect and any violation of this order shall invite punitive action under section 188 of Indian Penal Code, 1860, and other relevant sections of law in vogue,” the order reads.

The order was issued based on a report prepared by the Kupwara SSP who had highlighted the “mushrooming” of unregistered news portals/social media pages reporting on news and current affairs which are allegedly publishing content without verification and accountability.