Over The Top(OTT) platforms, news and current-affair content on online platforms are brought under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Gautham S
(credits: Amazon.in)
New Delhi: Over The Top(OTT) platforms or video streaming service providers, news and current-affair content on online platforms are brought under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. By this, Government can monitor activities on these platform and content can get censored if needed.
Allocation of Business rules of 1961 was amended for this. This will give government control over digital platforms, which were unregulated till now. OTT platforms and portals will be monitored by different departments and is headed by National Cyber Coordination Centre.
Currently in India, 27 OTT platforms are there and during this Covid-19 Pandemic period they became trending among people. How regulations are going to be implement on existing hasn't been clarified yet.
Last month, while considering public interest petition by Supreme Court related with OTT platforms, Court issued notice asking, "Is here any body who governs Rules and Regulation of OTT platforms?", to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. On light of this, Government brought online platform under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Its for the first time digital platforms are going to be monitored. Presently, Print Medias comes under Press Council of India, Visual Medias under News Broadcasting Association, Advertisement under Advertisement Standard Council of India and Films under Central Board of Films.