Industry bodies discuss OTT content regulation with parliamentary committee

Industry bodies met a parliamentary panel to discuss the growth of OTT platforms and related issues, according to media reports.

The meeting, with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, was focused on addressing concerns over obscenity in terms of the content of OTT.

As per reports, the government is considering stricter regulations, although industry bodies are seeking self-regulation mechanisms as per rules under the Information Technology Act.

Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Railways, and Electronics & IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, recently highlighted the urgent need to strengthen existing laws governing social media and OTT platforms.

Speaking on the subject, the Union Minister had said, “We are living in the era of social media and OTT platforms. However, the democratic institutions and traditional forms of the press that once relied on editorial checks to ensure accountability and correctness of content have seen these checks diminish over time.”

He noted that due to the absence of such editorial oversight, social media has become a platform for freedom of the press on the one hand, but on the other hand, it has also become a space for uncontrolled expression, which often includes vulgar content. BW Marketing World