Govt Will Censor Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar; Independent News Portals Will Be Regulated

Ok, so now it is very clear that Govt. of India is determined to regulate and censor OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and others.

And, independent media news portals are also under scanner, as Govt. wants an end to fake news, and its implications.

However, the freedom of the media will not be curtailed.

Union Minister: OTT Platforms WIll Have To Be Regulated

During a recent press briefing, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar has said that regulation of OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and others is required, and they are determined to do it as well.

The Minster was concerned that there is a certification body for movies releasing in the theaters, but there is no check on movies and web series being released on the OTT platforms. 

And this, needs to be changed and checked.

He has sought suggestions from everyone regarding this, as the Govt. wants a ‘certification body’ for OTTs and news portals.

He said, “I have sought suggestions on how to deal with this because there are regular feature films coming on OTT — good, bad and ugly. So how to deal with this, who should monitor, who should regulate. There is no certification body for OTT platforms and likewise news portals also,”

The Minister also talked about creating a regulation body to check independent news portal, to curb the menace of fake news.

More details are awaited. 

Will Govt. Really Censor Netflix and Amazon Prime, Hotstar?

In the last few weeks, various insider reports and leaks have emerged, which suggests a very strong possibility about a possible censorship and regulation of OTT platforms in India.

In July this year, Minister Prakash Javadekar suggested about regulating OTTs in India, meanwhile in the month of September, Information and Broadcasting Ministry initated meetings and talks with representatives of Hotstar, Voot, ZEE5, Arre, SonyLIV, ALTBalaji, Reliance Jio, Netflix and Eros Now, regarding censorship of their content.

As per some insider reports, these talks and initiatives to censor digital content was triggered by shows such as Leila and Gandi Baat, which broke the rules of their self-censorship.

However, the problem is, there exists no laws in Indian constitution, which can censor digital content, and hence, new laws needs to be created.

We will keep you updated, as more details come in.