SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir’s proposed new media policy is expected to be finalised soon, with the draft under examination and provisions being considered to cover social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, Director Information Mamta Yadav said on Thursday.
Yadav said the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) was responding to queries raised during the scrutiny of the draft and hoped the policy would be cleared at the earliest.
She was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Hansi Ke Rang, Sangeet Ke Sang, organised by the department’s Cultural Unit Kashmir.
“If any policy is made, there is a process for it. We have sent a draft and are continuously responding to the queries that are coming in,” she said.
Yadav said the proposed framework would take account of changes in the media landscape, particularly the growing role of social media in communication and public relations campaigns.
“Social media has grown significantly today, with platforms like Instagram and Facebook. We have included these aspects in the new policy,” she said.
The proposed policy is being developed amid concerns over unregulated digital news platforms, online trolling and the spread of misleading information. These issues were debated in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly during its recently concluded autumn session.
The existing media policy, introduced in 2020, gave the DIPR a role in scrutinising journalists’ backgrounds and allowed advertisements to be withheld from media outlets over content categorised as anti-national or fake news. The proposed 2026 policy is expected to address the expanding digital media landscape, although its final provisions have yet to be confirmed.
The proposed changes have also prompted concerns among digital media platforms and press advocates over their potential implications for freedom of expression and the risk of self-censorship.
