New Delhi: The parliamentary standing committee on information technology on Wednesday discussed the challenges of protecting creative freedom and imposing reasonable restrictions on content on overthe-top (OTT) platforms.

The panel considered how content regulation may be achieved, considering the sheer scale of sources from which it is received and curated on different OTT platforms.

CBFC chief Prasoon Joshi, appearing before the panel, defended the board’s role as a “censor” and said filmmakers were happy to alter or “cut” content when the board brought to their notice any concern about their content running foul of Indian laws, or if it were likely to hurt sentiments.

Sources said he told the panel that Shyam Benegal committee report on censorship was now largely redundant given the huge advances in technology and arrival of OTT platforms. They said members felt the 2013 Mudgal committee report, which advocated the need to move from censorship to certification, would now be more relevant.

The Shashi Tharoor-led panel accepted that policymakers would have to walk a fine line, but also agreed there should be parity in rules that apply to cinematic content released in theatres and those released on online platforms.

Sources said BJP MP Sumalatha was a strong votary of creative freedom for cinematic content online and suggested that the way forward should be for streaming devices to give clear disclaimers and age-related classifications and to qualify content containing nudity, drug use or abusive language.

Another BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, however, emphasised the need for some degree of regulation, given India’s diversity and wide-ranging sensitivities.