Kerala backtracks on RTI restrictions

IN Media Watch Briefs | 23/03/2016

Apropos our earlier brief on the Kerala government order restricting information which could be given under RTI on vigilance probes, the latest is that the order has been withdrawn after the Opposition created a ruckus over it. The Hindu reports that the office order issued by the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau (VACB) on the exemption of the T Branch from the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, has now been withdrawn.

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Amazon resisting voluntary censorship

The new term for self censorship is voluntary censorship, as proposed by companies like Netflix and Hotstar. ET reports that streaming video service Amazon Prime is opposing a move by its peers to adopt a voluntary censorship code in anticipation of the Indian government coming up with its own rules. Amazon is resisting because it fears that it may alienate paying subscribers.

Let the games begin

Clearly, the run to the 2019 elections is on. A journalist received a call from someone saying they were from Aajtak channel and were conducting a survey, asking whom she was going to vote for in 2019. On being told that her vote was secret, the caller assumed she wasn't going to vote for 'Modiji'. The caller, a woman, also didn't identify herself. A month or two earlier the same journalist received a call, this time from a man, asking if she was going to vote for the BSP.