I&B minister meets OTT representatives, clarifies Centre won't appoint any member in self-regulatory body

New Delhi, March 05: A week after the Information and Broadcasting ministry introduced new rules for OTT (Over the Top) platforms, I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar held a meeting with representatives of the OTT platformers including, Alt Balaji, Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Netflix. During the meeting, the minister discussed the new guidelines with them and dispelled myths around the digital media guidelines.

 

 

The minister mentioned that the government has done several rounds of consultation with the OTT players in the past and stressed the need for self-regulation. Javdekar also stated that he had received representations from cinema and TV industries on the fact, while there were regulations for them, none existed for the OTT industry. Thus, it was decided that Government would come out with a progressive institutional mechanism for OTT players and develop a level playing field with the idea of self-regulation.

 

While informing the representatives about the provisions of the rules, the minister said that it merely requires them to disclose information and that there is no requirement of registration of any kind with the Ministry. The Minister added that a form for this will be ready soon. Furthermore, the rules focus on the self-classification of content instead of any form of censorship. Further, OTT platforms are expected to develop an effective grievance redressal mechanism.

 

 

 

In that meeting, the Ministry clarified the government will not appoint any members in the self-regulatory body. However, he further informed that the Government will create Inter-Departmental Committee to look at complaints that remain unresolved at the self-regulatory level. The Ministry also reiterated that it expects the OTT industry to develop an effective grievance redressal mechanism.

The minister appreciated that many OTT platforms had welcomed the rules. During the meeting, the OTT players urge the I&B Ministry to give more time to adhere to the age-based classification mechanism. The industry representatives welcomed the rules and thanked the Minister for addressing most of their concerns.

 

On February 25, 2021, the Government issued new guidelines for digital media, including digital news platforms, social media, and OTT players. The guidelines for OTT platforms include content rating and adopting control mechanisms such as parental locks.

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