OTT players given 2 weeks to respond to government's proposal of regulating content

Over The Top (OTT) platforms have been given 15 days or two weeks’ time to contemplate the information & broadcasting ministry’s proposal of forming a committee or an additional “layer“ that would review scripts before a show or series is commissioned or goes under production. The move comes amid concerns being raised by the government that content on OTT platforms is not aligned to ‘Indian values and culture’.

The platforms operating in India must “reflect the collective conscience of the country, can’t show vulgarity and must focus on providing a healthy viewing experience to all age groups" is what the information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur reportedly told representatives of OTT platforms, including Netflix, Disney+Hotstar, Amazon Prime, among others.

The committee or additional 'layer' for self-regulation will comprise eminent members of the Indian broadcasting industry, lawyers and prominent figures, as part of committee, said a few people familiar with the proposal that is yet to be finalised. The ministry has not yet mentioned who can or cannot be a part of it.

Some of the concerns raised by the ministry at the meeting included:

There can't be vulgarity in the name of creativity just because there is self-regulatory mechanism for OTT platforms

Westernisation of culture needs to stop

Naming and shaming one religion needs to stop

Stereotyping India and culture needs to stop

After the meeting, Thakur took to Twitter to share that content regulation, user experience, among other things were discussed. He said the OTT platforms should be sensitive to India's cultural diversiy as they unleash the country's creative economy. "OTT players have a responsibility of ensuring that their platform does not propagate vulgarity and abuse camouflaged as ‘creative expression’. India is a diverse country; OTTs must also reflect the collective conscience of the country and provide a healthy viewing experience for people of all age groups," his tweet stated.

Sources close to the development revealed that a few shows and originals were specifically mentioned as a cause of concern during the meeting. These included Netflix originals Afwaah, Lust Stories and Rana Naidu.

Stakeholders are unconditional with the two weeks’ timeline given to take decision on an additional layer of regulation. The idea of having another body or layer was first tabled at a meeting in mid-June where all the stakeholders said that the self-regulation model is working fine. The industry believes additional regulation might hinder the potential growth and expansion of the platforms. They also fear this will also lengthen the overall creative process.

Plus, the oversight when it comes to content applied to the entire pool of content available for viewership in India may lead to piracy and huge revenue loss for these platforms. “Tech is evolving. This is a young, less than 10-year-old industry. You need to give time for the industry as well,” one of the stakeholders said.

Apart from the above suggestions, the I&B minister emphasised on simplifying the consumer entertainment experiences with video streaming platforms taking less time to find the desired content on the platform, content catering to differently-abled persons, creating more content around the ‘history of India’ and content around Indian mythology as well.