Government Pushes for More Self-Censorship on Streaming, Issues Ultimatum: Report
Autonomous Body Could be Set Up: Officials
Swati Mathur (THE TIMES OF INDIA; November 14, 2020)

New Delhi: The Centre has ordered that all online news portals and content providers like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar and others be brought under the information and broadcasting ministry.

The notification, signed by President Ram Nath Kovind and issued on Monday, said regulations would also apply to news on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Until now, OTT platforms fell under the domain of the electronics & IT ministry and remained unregulated, which was regarded by the government as anomalous. 
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New Delhi: Amid mixed reactions over the government’s decision to regulate content on OTT platforms, the Centre is planning to frame rules that will govern digital content on such platforms and social media. This will be done after due consultations with stakeholders.

The government is looking at the change in business rules that brings the platforms within the purview of the information and broadcasting ministry as required in order to plug several loopholes where content on OTT platforms as well as news circulated or broadcast through social media was not being subject to any scrutiny.

Government sources said bodies like the film certification board, Press Council of India and the News Broadcasters’ Association exercised jurisdictions which were, however, not applicable to OTT platforms and social media. “When a search engine picks up news and circulates it, then it is also a publisher, and must be accountable. Also, it not only circulates news, but often prioritises it,” a source said.

Even as government officials said it is too early to speculate over how the regulation of digital content is likely to pan out, it also remains unclear whether the government plans to tweak the existing Programme Code for TV and extend it to cover digital platforms, or if a separate legislation or autonomous body is to be proposed to oversee digital platforms and the content they curate and stream.

Sources said the proposed media council that could be an over-arching regulator is still in the works, and will need more consideration. Meanwhile, guidelines of the platforms that “fell in the gap” would be finalised. Earlier this week, the Centre ordered that all digital content, both in news and entertainment, will be brought under the jurisdiction of the information and broadcasting ministry.