Online news platforms, content providers and over-the-top platforms will now be controlled by the Information and Broadcasting ministry, an order issued by governemnt said. The notification has been signed by President Ram Nath Kovind.
While the Press Council of India and News Broadcast Association (NBA) monitor print media and news channels respectively, there is not law or civic body to govern digital content.
Ever since the boom in OTT content, there has been demand of forming a regulatory board to monitor these platforms.
Last month, the Supreme Court asked the centre to react on a petition for regulating OTT paltforms by an autonomous body. The apex court had issued notices to various boards to respond to the petition.
OTT platforms are responsible for providing content on the web. They include news portals and also streaming services such as Hotstar, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, which are accessible over the internet or ride on an operator’s network.
Time and again, the government had signaled on the need of controlling the content on the web. Over the years, a section of the society has raised eyebrows on the nudity, obscenity and abusive language used on the web shows.
While it is true that the OTT platforms have paved way for the content rich cinema, there is no denying in the fact that the freedom has also led to the unnecessary display of various things.
Meanwhile, in a complete contrary statement, Information and Broadcast Minister Prakash Javedkar had said that the government isn’t planning to take any steps to control media freedom, emphasising that there should be some kind of self-regulation on over-the-top platforms.
Following Union Minister’s remark, eight video streaming services had signed a self-regulatory code that led the foundation of guiding principles for digital content.
As conventional theatre remained suspended amid the pandemic for 7 months, most of the filmmakers expressed confidence in OTT streaming. Even the theatres have resumed services now with 50 per cent capacity, content on OTT platforms is expected to see progress due to its easy and affordable availability.
