Govt: Interference will be minimum on OTT

February 26, 2021 15:32

Amit Khare, Secretary, I&B Ministry

Amit Khare, Secretary, I&B Ministry on the new rules governing digital platforms and OTT players.

"We understand fully that type of media is different. Print is different from TV, TV is different from films and films are different from web series. We can't have same criteria all over but there should be some sort of similarity in goal post.

"Level playing field does not mean the same field for everybody but some sort of similarity in the regulation should be there. What was announced yesterday is a soft touch, self-regulatory mechanism with minimal interference of the govt.

"There's no censorship (in OTT platforms) like films. There's self-classification by concerned platform whether it's universal or +7 yrs or +13 yrs or +16 yrs or it has adult content. Idea is that citizen should make informed choice.

"The benchmarks that we have kept about age, is an international practice. Unlike the films where the classification is done by CBFC, here the classification will be done by the platforms but they will inform that is as per the age criteria."

The government on Thursday announced sweeping regulations for social media firms like Facebook and Twitter as well as OTT players such as Netflix, requiring them to remove any content flagged by authorities within 36 hours and setting up a complaint redressal mechanism with an officer being based in the country.

The guidelines also make it mandatory for platforms such as Twitter and WhatsApp to identify the originator of a message that authorities consider to be anti-national and against security and sovereignty of the country.

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