In a blow to streaming services in India, the Information And Broadcasting Ministry has returned the self-regulation code for online content that had been signed by 17 Indian streaming services in the beginning of September. The Government of India has termed the self-regulation code as unacceptable.
17 Indian OTT platforms had agreed to abide by a set of regulations drawn up by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), to self regulate the content they stream. The signatories to the Self-Regulation Code as it was called included Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Hotstar, Zee5, Viacom 18, MX Player, Jio Cinema, Eros Now, ALTBalaji, Arre, HoiChoi, Hungama, Shemaroo, Discovery Plus, and Flickstree in the beginning, with SonyLIV and Lionsgate Play giving their nod around a week later.
The Information And Broadcasting Ministry has asked streaming platforms to consider other self-regulatory models since the government does not support the current one.
Writing to IAMAI this week, the I&B Ministry said that the proposed self-regulation code does not classify prohibited content, does not specify a clearly defined code of ethics, and has no third party monitoring. The advisory panel proposed by the OTTs is constituted by the online curated content providers (OCCP) itself as against an independent organisation like Digital Curated Content Complaints Council, since out of three advisory panel members, two will be from OCCP itself, while there will only be one independent member.
Now that the Government has rejected their self-regulation code, things are back to square one for streaming platforms. One thing is certain: the government is very keen to exert some kind of control over the content streamed on OTT.
The issue of censorship of digital media has grown into a contentious one, especially after the Sudarshan TV fiasco. The Supreme Court took cognisance of the Sudarshan TV issue, after which the Government Of India averred that TV and cinema is already under stringent censorship laws. What is required is for the Supreme Court to curb the content on digital media, by facilitating some kind of control over online content.
OTT platforms have promised to strive to reach a consensus with the government so that the issue can be addressed to everyone’s liking.
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