OTT guidelines are ready, will be issued soon: Prakash Javadekar
Replying to a Zero Hour mention in Rajya Sabha, Javadekar said a lot of suggestions and complaints on the regulation of OTTs have been received
The guidelines for regulating over the top (OTT) content are ready and will be issued soon, Information and Broadcasting (I&B) minister Prakash Javadekar said in the Rajya Sabha today.
Replying to a Zero Hour mention, Javadekar said a lot of suggestions and complaints on the regulation of OTTs have been received. “Guidelines and direction are almost ready. It will be soon be implemented,” he said in his brief submission.
In written responses to other questions, Javadekar informed the Rajya Sabha that the government has received several representations regarding the content of programmes on OTT platforms.
He further stated that the government has also held several consultations with OTT players and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) impressing upon them the need for having an appropriate self-regulatory mechanism for content over OTT platforms.
The Central government has vide notification dated 9.11.2020 amended the allocation of business rules and the subject relating to the content of news and current affairs and audio-visual content on online platforms have been brought in the mandate of the MIB.
Meanwhile, the IAMAI has said that it has finalised its self-regulation implementation toolkit which comprises a set of guiding principles and procedures. "We will start the verification by March and April to ensure full compliance with the code by August," IAMAI co-chair digital entertainment committee Gourav Rakshit told The Economic Times.
Rakshit stated that the toolkit has taken care of the government's concerns.
The report further stated that Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, ZEE5, Voot, and SonyLIV have signed the document while MX Player and Disney+ Hotstar are expected to sign soon.
