No proposal to install chips in STBs to monitor TV viewership: Rathore

The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has said that there is no proposal to install a chip in set top boxes (STBs) to track viewership data.

Responding to a question in Lok Sabha whether the Government has proposed to install a chip in television set-top boxes to ascertain the viewership data, I&B minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said that there is no such proposal at present.

It is pertinent to note that the MIB had given a back reference to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to ask direct to home (DTH) operators to install a chip in the new STBs which can give data about channels watched and their duration.

In its response in April, the authority had stated that this is a new issue and cannot be a part of the back reference.

It had also asked MIB to seek the authority’s recommendations as per provision of TRAI Act 1997 through separate reference if it desires TRAI’s recommendations on the same.

The I&B ministry was then headed by Smriti Irani while Rathore was a minister of state in the I&B ministry.

The new proposal was part of back reference on issues related to new DTH licences. The TRAI had issued recommendations on issues related to DTH licences in July 2014. The ministry had differed with several recommendations of the TRAI. However, the latter stood its ground and reiterated its recommendations in the back reference.

Responding to separate questions, Rathore stated that the TRAI’s recommendations on ‘Ease of Doing Business in Broadcasting Sector’ and ‘Issues relating to Uplinking and Downlinking of Television Channels in India are under the consideration of the ministry.

Rathore further stated that the government proposes to set up a Social Media Hub to facilitate information flow regarding its policies and programmes through social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Asked whether the project could invade an individual’s right to privacy and the right to freedom of speech and if so, the steps taken by the Government in this regard, Rathore said that there is no proposal to invade an individual’s right to privacy, and the right to freedom of speech.

He also denied that the government is using the Social Media Hub as a new tool of surveillance.

Rathore said that the I&B ministry in the past 2 years has been a facilitator in providing publicity to the flagship schemes of the Government on major social media platforms. In this regard, it has organised live social media interactions and competitions on social media platforms on various issues.