Days after Govt of India put all OTTs and digital news portals under the ambit of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, fueling speculations of online censorship, fresh reports indicate that censorship might not happen.
Infact, Govt has refused to censor the OTT content, but is very concerned on the uncensored content being streamed.
It seems that the Govt is not willing to reveal, what is their plan regarding OTT content, and this keeps the mystery still intact.
Here are the details..
Union Minister: No, We Don’t Want To Regulate OTT Content
While speaking at an online event on the occasion of National Press Day, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar has made it clear that Govt doesn’t want to censor content being streamed on OTTs such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and others.
But yes, Govt is concerned about the content, and deliberating options to check, monitor and filter, which technically won’t be censorship.
Minister said, “There are good films on OTT platforms, ordinary films, bad films, and even very bad films on them,”
Infact, Govt wants the OTTs to take the responsibility, and impose some kind of regulation, via self-regulation.
The Minister said, “The government does not want to get into this. The government does not want to intervene and stop any freedom, but this is your responsibility. When the government is believing in you, you should set an example of responsible journalism and responsible freedom,”
He also revealed that the Ministry, which now controls all OTTs and digital news portals/channels is ‘deliberating’ on various options to monitor and control the content.
Will Netflix, Amazon, Hotstar Will Be Censored?
Going by the statements of the Minister, it’s very clear that Govt doesn’t want to impose any new censorship laws all of a sudden, and create a panic among content creators.
However, the fact that OTTs are now under I&B Ministry means that they have the power to censor their content, as and when required.
At the same time, Govt has also made it clear that they are not too happy with the self-regulation code being implemented by the OTTs for their content.
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.
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