In a recent move, government has decided to bring in Over the Top (OTT) platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime and others under the ambit of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting(I&B).
A gazette notification signed by President Ram Nath Kovind declared that all platforms of digital news, online films, and current affairs will be monitored and will come under the purview of the I&B Ministry headed by Prakash Javadekar.
The main reason of bringing these platforms under I&B Ministry has to be related to fake news. Another reason for this can be emotions that these movies evoke, as the content over digital platforms has no bar, this led to display of various kinds of movies, including the ones not appropriate for a certain age group, tradition or culture. This regulation will keep in check movies that might trigger hatred or hurt national sentiments.
OTT platforms were not previously under any such regulation, unlike Television. In October 2019, the government had indicated that it will issue “negative” list of don’ts for the video streaming services like Netflix and Hotstar. It also wanted the platforms to come up with a self-regulatory body on the lines of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority. This move was already anticipated by these platforms, hence, they had already signed a self-regulatory code that laid down a set of guiding principles for content presented on these platforms in January 2019.
This set of guidelines or code consisted of 5 types of content that had to be prohibited-
- Content that deliberately and maliciously disrespects the national emblem or national flag.
- Any visual or story line that promotes child pornography.
- Any content that “maliciously” intends to outrage religious sentiments.
- Content that “deliberately and maliciously” promotes or encourages terrorism.
- Any content that has been banned for exhibition or distribution by law or court.
But the government had refused to support this code.
Currently there are respective bodies that regulate television platform. The Press Council of India regulates the print media, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) represents the news channels, the Advertising Standards Council of India regulates advertising and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) monitors films.
There hasn’t been much clarification on how OTT platforms will be regulated but it is anticipated that the Programme Code that governs content on TV may serve as a template to frame rules for online content. It would be interesting to see how the world of OTT platforms will change and how will the government monitor it at all times. Internet is active at all times, there are hundreds of news and video platforms upcoming up every day with some kind of content.
