Union Cabinet approves Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023 to curb film piracy

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023, which has provisions to curb the transmission of pirated film content on the Internet. Briefing the media about the Cabinet decision, Union information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur said that the bill will be introduced in the upcoming session of Parliament.

Mr Thakur informed the media that the bill also has provisions to classify films on the basis of age group instead of the current practice of rating them "U" (unrestricted public exhibition), "A" (restricted to adult audiences), and "UA" (unrestricted public exhibition subject to parental guidance for children below the age of 12).

The Union minister said that wide-ranging consultations were held with stakeholders on the bill. "This bill will live up to the expectations of the industry. This bill is going to satisfy each and every one without any controversy," he said.

The minister noted that there were demands from various stakeholders to take action to curb piracy, age-based film classification and to change certain redundant provisions in the existing Act.

"The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2019 and the new draft is based on consultations with the film industry and also incorporates the best practices from across the world," he said.

Mr Thakur refrained from sharing more details of the bill and said its provisions will become clear once the draft legislation is introduced in Parliament.

Last week, at an event in Mumbai, information and broadcasting secretary Apurva Chandra had said that provisions regarding the transmission of film content on the Internet were being added to the bill.

"If that happens, it will go a long way in protecting copyright and we will be able to block those websites where pirated content is transmitted. But let's see how it goes in Parliament and how it proceeds," Mr Chandra said.