Industry bodies, Parliamentary panel to meet on Dec 20 for OTT content rules

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology is scheduled to meet industry bodies on December 20, 2024 to discuss the hotly debated topic of OTT content regulation and the way forward.

Time and again concerns have been raised over the content streamed on OTT platforms, especially regarding vulgarity, excessive violence and profanity-laced language.

The industry has been stressing on continuing with self-regulation, while the Government wants stricter regulations in place, given that OTT viewing has become more of family viewing now, instead of individual viewing.

It may be noted here that addressing a Parliament Question during the ongoing session of the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Railways, and Electronics & IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, highlighted the urgent need to strengthen existing laws governing social media and OTT platforms.

Vaishnaw 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 press on one hand, but on the other hand, it has also become a space for uncontrolled expression, which often includes vulgar content.

Also Read: Indian Entertainment & Media Industry revenue to soar with a CAGR of 8.3%