From “overdose of kissing” to “excessive alcohol consumption” to content hurting sentiments, OTT platforms have been subjected to various complaints and FIRs in the past. From Sacred Games, Tandav, Mirzapur to A Suitable Boy, many complaints have been filed against makers of shows. There is a constant controversy vs creative freedom tussle on OTT. During a discussion titled ‘Digital Media: taking stock of self-regulation’ at FICCI Frames 2023 in Mumbai, the panellists – which also included Vikram Sahay, Joint Secretary, I&B – spoke about how self-regulation of content on OTT platforms has changed the scenario for the better.

Producer Madhu Bhojwani, who is a member of grievance redressal board, shared her experience of being on the board for two years and said, “I think in 2021, when this document titled Code of Ethics was circulated, it was read with a lot of trepidation. But I think the community (of creators) has taken it very well. When the IMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India) approached me to join the Council I was very happy because I had the privilege of learning what are the grievances and complaints that are coming forward.”

Talking about complaints, she said, “It’s been two years since and over these last 22 months, only 13 complaints have come to the second tier. On the advice of the ministry, there have been two reviews that have happened on certain platforms. I think pre-2021, the amount of litigation and discord that was prevalent and willy-nilly cases were being filed and creators were taken to the court. At that time there was a lot of concern among creators, but post 2021, once this regulatory framework has come into place, the first tier has become an interesting filter. This is such a robust framework that complaints are being addressed at the first level. What doesn’t get rectified at the first level as a filter comes to us (second level).”

Vikram Sahay, Joint Secretary, I&B said that when the self-regulatory structure started, they were not clear about what to do because the OTT space is different. He added, “We were grappling with ideas from abroad and we had various options. Some people said films coming to OTT should be pre-certified. We also had a Singapore model where they have digital media authority and then we had an e-commission model from Australia. We looked at all those options and we said, ‘No, the government has a lot of trust and faith in the creators of films and web series.’ With that faith we embarked upon the concept of co-regulation with a strong citizen-centric framework of grievance redressal. So that if citizens have a grievance they have a forum to go to. We have been working on a co-regulatory model.”

Currently, there’s a three-level grievance redressal mechanism in place for OTT content, where platforms are required to have a Grievance Redressal Officer and self-regulatory bodies, while the I&B ministry has an inter-departmental committee for hearing grievances. Majority of the OTT platforms are either registered with IAMAI-DPCGC (Internet and Mobile Association of India – Digital Publisher Content Grievances Council) or DMCRC (Digital Media Content Regulatory Council).