Streaming services appoint chairperson, members of grievance redressal body

The Internet and Mobile Association of India has announced that former Supreme Court Justice (Retd.) Arjan Kumar Sikri will chair the Grievance Redressal Board (GRB), formed as part of the Digital Publisher Content Grievances Council (DPCGC), to address content grievances pertaining to any of the member video streaming services.

Late last month, several video streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, ALTBalaji, and MX Player, among others, had agreed to join the new DPCGC, formed by IAMAI, as a second-tier of grievance redressal mechanism envisioned by the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

Current members of the DPCGC include Amazon Prime Video, ALTBalaji, Apple, BookMyShow Stream, Eros Now, Firework TV, Hoichoi, Hungama, Lionsgate Play, MX Player, Netflix, Reeldrama, Shemaroo and Ullu.

Members of IAMAI’s grievance redressal board include actor Suhasini Maniratnam; producer Madhu Bhojwani, who is also a partner at production company Emmay Entertainment and Motion Pictures; Gopal Jain, senior advocate, Supreme Court of India and Ranjana Kumari, a civil society representative who currently serves as director of the Centre for Social Research and as chairperson of Women Power Connect.

The two members from the Online Curated Content Providers — streaming services has been named thus by IAMAI — are Amit Grover, senior corporate counsel, Amazon India, and Priyanka Chaudhari, director-legal, Netflix India.

The appointment of GRB members is a crucial step towards setting up an independent grievance redressal mechanism in alignment with IT Rules 2021, IAMAI said in a statement.

“The GRB will oversee and ensure the alignment and adherence to the Code of Ethics by the DPCG Council members, provide guidance to member entities on the Code of Ethics and address grievances that have not been resolved by the publisher within the stipulated period,” it added.

Meanwhile, broadcaster-led streaming platforms joined the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the apex body of broadcasters, which has been renamed the Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) to also cover over-the-top streaming platforms and bring them under one roof.

The IBDF has also formed a self-regulatory body called Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC) for digital OTT platforms, which is a second-tier complaints mechanism. Live Mint