How should online media be managed? Is it right or wrong to charge a registration fee? Journalists in particular have been commenting on this issue on their social media platforms in the past week.

The discussion came after the government made rules through the Printing and Publishing (Second Amendment) Regulations, including a fee of five thousand rupees to register with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology for the operation of online media.

At the center of such debate was the opinion that to curb the tendency of online media outlets to ‘spread false information and write haphazardly’, a higher fee should be imposed, and strict laws should be made and regulated. Many people on social media have expressed similar views. However, stakeholders have opposed the rules brought by the government, saying that they are arbitrary and control-oriented.

Some of the rules in the regulations are inconsistent with the constitution, while some are even against the provisions of the Printing and Publishing Act. Therefore, stakeholders have accused the government of trying to control online media outlets under the pretext of managing them through the regulations. They demand that the regulations be corrected immediately.

The government has centralized the registration of online media through amendments to the regulations, while there is an attempt to control it by adding provisions such as charging fees for registration and renewal, contrary to past practice and the spirit of the constitution.

What are the changes in the regulations?

Last year, the government amended the ‘Printing Houses and Publications Act, 2048’ through the ‘Some Nepal Amendment Act, 2082’ to regulate and manage online media. Due to that amendment, the registration and renewal of online media had been stopped since August 14.

Many opposed the amendment, saying that the provision for online registration from the District Administration Office would create more chaos, while some praised it.

After protests from stakeholders including the Federation of Nepali Journalists, the government has amended the regulations on Kartik 13 to re-register online media outlets through the Department of Information and Broadcasting under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

Online registration only through the registration center, double fee for registration

According to the revised regulations, online media outlets will now be registered only through the center. Earlier, online registration was also being done at the office of the Press Registrar under the Bagmati Province government. The regulations do not clarify what will happen to the existence of those online media outlets registered under the province.

Organizations wishing to register online media outlets will have to submit an application to the Department of Information and Broadcasting along with a fee of five thousand rupees and attach the necessary documents. The organization will have to submit documents such as registration certificate, management certificate, citizenship of the editor and director, educational qualification or journalism experience certificate, tax payment certificate, audit report, decision to open a domain, and a commitment letter to pay salaries through a bank. There is a provision for a fee of Rs 2,500 for renewal at regular intervals and an additional fine if the deadline is exceeded.

Earlier, the department had been registering and renewing online media outlets free of charge. This time, the ministry has taken a slanted view on online media outlets by adding a provision to charge a fee through the regulations, which has been strongly opposed by stakeholders. They say that charging double fees for online media registration is impractical.

According to the provisions of the same regulations, an individual can register and publish newspapers as a publisher. But in the case of online media outlets, an individual cannot publish, an organization is required. That is, there must be a commercial company or firm with the stated purpose of operating online media outlets.

To register such a company or firm with the bodies under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, a fee must be paid based on the capital of the proposed company. It is mandatory to register a PAN or VAT before applying for online media registration, even for excise duty or tax on commercial transactions.

Stakeholders say that making it a control-oriented idea to pay a fee once for a media service and then have the Department of Information charge a fee again for online registration is a control-oriented idea. The Federation of Nepali Journalists has objected to five points, including the provision for charging registration fees and monitoring, and demanded immediate correction.

Federation General Secretary Ram Prasad Dahal said, ‘There is no situation where a company can be registered online without registering. The Department of Information should register the service and give permission. It has been free of charge since the past. We do not accept charging a fee for this. It is not practical for the government to charge double fees for the same purpose after paying revenue once.’

The Federation has stated that the rule that only online media should be renewed by paying a fee every year is not practical. ‘According to the regulation, newspapers registered under the regulation do not have to be renewed, but must be renewed online,’ said General Secretary Dahal.

The regulation also includes a provision for imposing an additional fine on those who do not renew on time. It is said that an additional fee will be charged from 10 percent in the first month to two hundred percent (200%) from the seventh month to one fiscal year. Thus, the regulation states that if renewal is not made within the specified period, the registration of those online media outlets will be canceled. Stakeholders have opposed this provision of the regulation, saying that it is against the spirit of the constitution and the provisions of the original act.

Meanwhile, Director of the Department of Information and Broadcasting, Min Kumar Sharma, claimed that the provision that online media outlets that will now be registered will pay a registration fee of five thousand and online media outlets that will renew after the middle of Poush will pay a fee of two thousand five hundred is practical. He said, ‘We will implement the regulation. Now, online media outlets that will be registered will have to pay five thousand.’ Those who have renewed now will have to pay Rs 2,500 from mid-December.'

According to the department, there are 5,135 online media outlets registered as of 2080 Shrawan 20. As per the regulations, Rs 12.837 million, five hundred rupees will be collected just for renewing all of them online. But the regulations do not specify what facilities will be provided for the fee or for what purpose it will be spent.

When Kantipur asked Sharma what facilities the media outlets will get after registering and renewing by paying this amount, the department's director said that it will be deposited in the state treasury. 'The fee is collected as per the regulations. But this money will be added to the state as tax,' he said.

The regulations have made provision for 'at least three employees including the editor' and a written commitment letter to provide regular remuneration.' According to sub-rule (5) of Rule 8 (a), it is mentioned that a new registration cannot be made with a name or domain that is similar to an already registered online name. It is clarified that ‘similar’ means a situation where only a few words are changed or a prefix/suffix pair name is created.

According to Rule 8 (e), online media outlets must mandatorily display the registration number, office and operator addresses, contact details, names of editors and journalists, and details of the privacy policy on the main page of their website.

Similarly, if an online media outlet finds a mistake, it must immediately correct it and make it public, and the department and the Press Council have the right to monitor it. Sub-rule (1) of Article 8 (i) of the regulation states that ‘Local authorities and the Press Council may monitor and inspect whether online media outlets comply with the prevailing laws and these regulations.’

Experts say that strict administrative rules cannot manage

Although the government has presented these regulations as a step to make online media organized and responsible, experts have interpreted some of its provisions as controlling the free press. They said that the idea that online media outlets can be managed only through strict administrative rules is wrong.

The regulations have shown the direction of making online media outlets legal and responsible, but experts say that their strict implementation has also brought with it the danger of affecting press freedom.

‘These regulations have been brought to control online media outlets,’ said media researcher Ujjwal Acharya. ‘It is not justified to charge registration fees like this when online media is in crisis and needs to be rescued,’ he added, ‘Fake information needs to be controlled, but that should be through cooperation, not through control.’

Similarly, Acharya argues that this regulation discriminates between newspapers and online media. ‘Online media should not be viewed differently from newspapers,’ he said, ‘Even if newspapers are not renewed, they will continue to operate, but strict administrative rules are being imposed on online media from a commercial perspective.’

Media scholar and editor of ‘Media Kurakani’ Raviraj Baral also said that this regulation will harm small and alternative media. He said that conditions such as fees, tax certificates and audit reports will add to the financial burden for small media and create obstacles to the entry of new online media.