Media Ownership Concentration Posing Threat To Democracy, Says TRAI Chief

While speaking at CII Big Picture Summit, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Chairman P D Vaghela said that experts at the regulatory body are studying issues related to over-the-top services.

The concentration of media ownership poses a potential threat to democracy and telecom and broadcast regulator TRAI is working on recommendations to handle issues related to it, a top official of the regulatory body said today.

While speaking at CII Big Picture Summit, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Chairman P D Vaghela said that experts at the regulatory body are studying issues related to over-the-top services and TRAI will aim to come out with a light touch framework for the same that irons out inconsistencies created by technological disruption.

"It is antithetical to the phenomenon of concentration of media ownership. The concentration of media ownership has been identified with a number of problems. Undoubtedly, the most significant of these is the threat it poses to freedom of expression and democracy. Looking at the importance of the issue, we are in the process of framing the recommendations on the issues relating to media ownership," Vaghela said.

In April 2022, TRAI floated a consultation paper on the need for monitoring cross-media ownership and control, mechanism and related issues in the wake of drastic changes in the sector with the advent of digital technology.