New Delhi: During a meeting with representatives of over the top (OTT) streaming platforms, information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar said that there will be no government-appointed member in the self-regulatory body that will address complaints under the new rules released by the government.
According to a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau, the said his ministry will partner with the industry to make the audience experience better, adding that the guidelines focus on self-classification of content instead of any form of censorship.
He met representatives of platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and Alt Balaji. The statement says that these representatives have welcomed the government’s new guidelines.
The Centre had notified the new rules and guidelines for OTT platforms and digital news media outlets on February 25, requiring them to make public their details and having a grievance redressal system in place. They have come under criticism for granting sweeping powers to the government, including the ability to demand removal of content.
“Had a fruitful meeting with representatives from OTT industry and explained the provisions of the OTT rules. All representatives have welcomed the new guidelines. The ministry and industry will partner together to make the OTT experience better for all audience,” Javadekar tweeted.
While addressing representatives of the industry, the minister mentioned that in the past, the government had held several rounds of consultation with OTT players, and he stressed on the need for “self-regulation”, it said. Javadekar said that he had received representations from the cinema and TV industries that while there were regulations for them, none existed for the OTT industry.
“Thus, it was decided that the government would come out with progressive institutional mechanism for OTT players and develop a level playing field with the idea of self-regulation,” the statement said.
The minister said the rules require them to disclose information and that there is no requirement of registration of any kind with the ministry. The minister also said that a form for this will be ready soon, according to the statement
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“Furthermore, the rules focus on self-classification of content instead of any form of censorship. Further, OTT platforms are expected to develop an effective grievance redressal mechanism,” the minister said.
The rules provide that a code of ethics needs to be followed by digital news publishers and publishers of OTT content, which includes five age-based classifications (‘U’, ‘U/A 7+’, ‘U/A 13+’, ‘U/A 16+’ and ‘A’) with respect to OTT platforms.
The rules also state that a three-level grievance redressal mechanism consisting of the publisher (level-1), self-regulating body constituted by the publishers (level-2) and an oversight mechanism of the government (level-3), will dispose of grievances in a time-bound manner.
The minister said on Thursday that the self-regulating body will not have any member appointed by the government.
The PIb statement says that the Centre will create an inter-departmental committee to look into complaints that remain unresolved at the self-regulatory level.
In an office memorandum, the government reiterated that it announced on February 25 the Information Technology (Intermediary guidelines and digital media ethics codes) Rules, 2021, under the Information and Technology Act, 2000.
“Furnishing of information by publishers to the government and periodical disclosure of information regarding grievance redressal in public domain,” according to the new digital media rules.
The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) has criticised the proposed regulation of OTT services and digital media, saying it is unconstitutional as they were formulated without any legislative backing. “The purview of the IT Act 2000 does not extend to news media, and so the guidelines, do not have the legislative backing to regulate news media,” the organisation said.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court also batted for the regulation of content on OTT platforms, saying they sometimes show “pornographic” material. It wondered if content on these platforms require some sort of screening before they are released. It was hearing the bail plea of a senior Amazon Prime executive in relation to the web series Tandav, against which several FIRs have been registered.