The Centre has recently issued a statement supporting the call for censorship in several OTT platforms, cracking down against abusive language and obscenities in shows and movies.
The Centre has decided to crack down against the rising complaints against obscenities and abusive language in many OTT shows, which have managed to gain massive fan following on platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar and Sony Liv.
Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur took a firm stand against some of the content available through OTT platforms, saying that vulgarity and abusive language are not acceptable in the name of creativity.
While addressing a press conference, Minister Anurag Thakur talked about the rising number of complaints against some of the shows on Netflix, Prime and other OTT platforms, reiterating that the Centre would not shy away from censoring such content in India.
OTT or Over The Top platforms in India have completely taken over, especially during the Covid pandemic which forced the shutdown of cinema halls for two years. Similar to the big screen, the Centre has established some rules for the OTT platforms and the content they are pushing out.
Rules for Netflix, Amazon Prime, other OTT platforms in India
While the Indian government has very little control over what these OTT platforms push, they also have a few guidelines over what can be shown on the small screen. Since companies like Netflix, Disney and Amazon are not Indian-owned, most of their content is made by foreign productions.
As of now, the Centre has notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 to regulate OTT platforms like Amazon Prime, Netflix India and others. This means that currently, OTT platforms have a self-regulatory mechanism.
Unlike movies released in theatres, OTT platforms have no involvement of the Central Board of Film Certification and give their content a self-evaluated certification. OTTs are also required to display age-based content ratings for their shows and movies.
As per the Centre, OTT shows and movies should now show any content which is prohibited under Indian law and threaten the sovereignty of the nation. Netflix, Prime, Sony Liv and other platforms are mandated to have a Grievance Officer based in India, for receiving and addressing all complaints regarding their content.
Due to the sudden increase in complaints, the Indian government has issued a stern warning to OTT platforms, saying that they might soon take matters into their own hands when it comes to censoring offensive content.
READ | 'When one crosses the limit...': Union Minister Anurag Thakur takes strong stand against vulgarity in OTT content
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