The Jammu and Kashmir government is working on a new media policy to regulate the mushrooming of social media journalists, the Legislative Assembly was informed on Wednesday.
Responding to a question from National Conference (NC) MLA Bashir Veeri, Minister Sakina Itoo said the Assembly’s House Committee, constituted to examine the matter, has given the Information Department four months to formulate new guidelines. Itoo said the House Committee, headed by senior MLA and former minister, Ali Mohammad Sagar, met on July 13, 2026.
The government informed the House that under proposed New Media Policy, 2026, adequate provisions for registration and regulation of the Online News Media Platforms have been incorporated to ensure their accountability.
The Minister informed the House that the issue was discussed in detail during the previous Budget Session 2026 and MLAs across all political parties, highlighted the issue of dissemination of misleading and false information by unregistered and unregulated Digital/Social Media News Channels and the need to fix their accountability.
She added that as per the Government’s commitment to effectively address the issue, the Information Department is soon going to issue New Media Policy, 2026, wherein, besides Print Media, adequate provisions for registration and regulation of the Online News Media Platforms have been incorporated to ensure their accountability.
The Minister also said that as per the instructions given in House Committee on Govt. Assurances meeting recently, headed by Legislator Ali Mohammad Sagar, the Information Department has been asked to come up with a comprehensive guideline/SOP, mandating maintaining of the detailed lists of all unregistered social media news handles in the districts by the respective District Administration and to file cases under the relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Bharat Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 (earlier IPC)
She added that these new Laws contain explicit provisions to penalize and manage the spread of misinformation, fake news, and provocative content on social media platforms.
The Minister also informed that the J&K Home Department has also established the J&K Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (JK4C) as an independent organization under the overall superintendence and control of the Director General of Police, J&K, for coordinating, preventing, detecting and investigating cybercrimes in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
She also informed the House that to keep a check on fake/ misleading News Items appearing in the Print/Electronic/Social Media, the Social Media Cell of the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), J&K regularly tracks and examines such news through its dedicated Cell for monitoring of Fake/ Misleading News.
“As soon as any news item which is found fake or misleading, the Rebuttal of the same is issued through the Social Media handles of the Department on real time basis. It is also ensured that the Rebuttal of the Fake/ Misleading News items is issued for publication in the immediate next edition of the Newspapers, besides uploading of the same on the official website of the DIPR to keep the public informed”, she said.
The Minister also informed that the proposed J&K Media Policy, 2026, authorizes the DIPR to monitor content for fake news, plagiarism, and unethical/anti-national activities and to de-empanel the media house or withhold release of any government advertisement to such media entities. Besides, if such entities are registered by the Press Registrar General of India under the Press & Registration of Periodicals Act of 2023, their de-registration is recommended under the said Act, she added.
Legislators Altaf Ahmad Wani (Kuloo), Tanvir Sadiq, Saifuddin Bhat, Nazir Ahamd Khan (Gurezi), Waheed ur Rehman Parra, R.S Pathania, Nizamuddin Bhat, Pawan Gupta and Justice (Retd) Hasnain Masoodi raised supplementaries.
