Kathmandu, October 30
The government has moved forward with a bill seeking to amend and consolidate laws governing the Media Council, with the proposed legislation now under review by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has prepared the Media Council Bill, 2026, and sent it to the Law Ministry for its opinion.
The bill aims to restructure the existing Press Council and develop it into an autonomous regulatory body with greater authority. The Law Ministry is currently studying the proposal.
On Friday, Law Minister Sobita Gautam held discussions on the bill with Home Minister Sudan Gurung and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Dr Bikram Timilsina.
Senior government officials and representatives of the Nepal Police’s Cyber Bureau also took part in the discussions, according to Minister Gautam’s secretariat.
The bill’s preamble states that it aims to maintain professional and ethical standards in journalism and make the press sector more credible and responsible.
The government expects the proposed autonomous regulatory body to promote self-regulation and support the development and protection of fair, independent and accountable journalism.
The draft proposes forming a governing committee to oversee the council’s policy-making and institutional functions. The council chairperson would lead the committee.
It also proposes a recommendation committee, coordinated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to recommend candidates for the positions of council chairperson and members.
Under the proposed provisions, the council would be given authority to regulate and control misinformation, disinformation, manipulated information and misleading content generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
The bill also includes provisions aimed at making media ownership and investment more transparent.
If enacted, the law would require chairpersons and directors of media organisations to disclose to the council the businesses in which they have invested, the sectors of their investments and the sources of funding.
Media organisations would also be required to publicly disclose relevant investment interests when publishing or broadcasting news reports, articles or other content concerning sectors in which the organisation or its directors have investments. The disclosure would have to be made in a manner accessible to the public.
