On Thursday, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar said that OTT platforms will not have to register with the ministry and a self-regulating body under the new digital rules will have no members appointed by the government.
On February 25, the Centre notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, under the Information Technology Act, 2000. The new set of rules are for regulating social media companies, streaming and digital news content.
As part of the rules, the Centre had proposed a three-tier mechanism for the platforms to address content-related matters. The first layer would be officials appointed by these companies. The second- would be a self-regulatory body to address complaints. The third tier would be a government-appointed panel.
The statement was issued after Javadekar met representatives of OTT platforms such as Alt Balaji, Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Jio, Zee5, Viacom18, Shemaroo and MxPlayer.
On Thursday, Javadekar elevated the fears of the OTT platforms, saying that the rules focus on self-classification of content instead of imposing any form of censorship.
The minister informed that the government will create Inter-Departmental Committee to look at complaints which remain unresolved at the self-regulatory level.
The statement said that industry representatives welcomed the rules and thanked the Union minister for addressing most of their concerns. The minster added that the Ministry is open to any clarification or queries from the industry,” it said.