MIB calls for Anti-Piracy consultation; stakeholders seek wider task force, real-time action

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has initiated a nationwide consultation process with key stakeholders from India’s media and entertainment industry to strengthen anti-piracy mechanisms and curb the growing menace of copyright infringement across digital platforms.

In a public notice dated November 7, 2025, the Ministry said it is conducting a comprehensive review of the country’s existing enforcement and monitoring framework aimed at tackling piracy that affects films, television broadcasts, and over-the-top (OTT) content. The review seeks to address long-standing challenges in identifying, reporting, and removing infringing content across diverse media channels.

According to the Ministry, the issue of piracy carries significant cross-sectoral implications—impacting not just creative industries such as film producers, streaming services, and broadcasters, but also digital intermediaries, telecom providers, and enforcement agencies. The MIB said it intends to evolve a cohesive, inter-agency framework to boost coordination among these entities and enhance the overall enforcement ecosystem.

As part of this exercise, stakeholders have been asked to submit their inputs by November 27 on four key aspects:

Challenges in identifying and removing pirated content;

Technological and procedural gaps in enforcement and coordination;

International best practices suitable for India; and

Mechanisms to improve collaboration between government bodies, platforms, and rights holders.

The move aligns with the government’s broader push to strengthen intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and promote a fair, transparent, and secure digital entertainment market. Officials said the initiative could pave the way for a unified national anti-piracy strategy combining legal, policy, and technological interventions.

Stakeholders Seek Wider Mandate for MIB Task Force

Broadcasters and distribution stakeholders have welcomed the Ministry’s consultation but urged the government to expand the mandate of its anti-piracy task force beyond digital domains to include cable and satellite networks as well. They flagged rising instances of cross-border piracy networks smuggling Indian Direct-to-Home (DTH) set-top boxes (STBs) to neighbouring countries and parts of the Middle East, exploiting gaps in current regulations.

Currently, the MIB’s steering committee on anti-piracy primarily collaborates with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to tackle digital piracy and online movie leaks. However, industry bodies argue that this limited scope is no longer sufficient given the increasingly sophisticated and hybrid nature of piracy operations spanning satellite, cable, and OTT ecosystems.

Stakeholders also highlighted multiple operational and technological challenges. These include the difficulty of acting against content delivery networks (CDNs) and domains hosted outside India, the lack of a specialized and adequately empowered piracy enforcement unit, and the absence of mechanisms to trace financial transactions behind illegal streaming networks.

Further, industry representatives called for stronger digital rights management (DRM) tools such as watermarking and encryption to prevent content theft, as well as greater seriousness from law enforcement agencies, which often treat piracy as a minor offence. There were also calls for real-time blocking of pirated streams, particularly during live sports events, content broadcasts, and theatrical releases, to minimize revenue losses.

Industry experts believe that the MIB’s current consultation could serve as a critical step toward modernizing India’s anti-piracy ecosystem—if it leads to tighter enforcement, cross-platform monitoring, and stronger inter-agency coordination.