Skip to main content

Government Takes Control of Digital Media Platforms: Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to be Censored?

The Government of India has issued an order bringing all the digital media platforms and online curated content providers (OCCPs) such as online news portal and OTT platforms (like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Sony Liv), under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Up until now, the digital media platforms were monitored by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), but, the notification dated 9 November undersigned by the Indian President Ram Nath Kovind brings change to the Allocation or Business Rules, 1961 bringing in all the digital media platforms under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry of India.

Netflix
Netflix is looking to expand its Original Series Portfolio in India

It is stated that “films and audio-visual programmes made available by online content providers” and “news and current affairs content on online platforms” would be brought under the heading “Ministry of Information and Broadcasting” in the Second Schedule of Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961.

This comes after the Supreme Court of India questioned the Government of India last month regarding a petition on regulating OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar, and few others.

This new notification gives jurisdiction to I&B Ministry to regulate content on Online Curated Content Providers in the country which includes Zee5, Viacom 18 Voot, Disney Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, MX Player, Jio Cinema, Eros Now, Alt Balaji, Arre, HoiChoi, Hungama, Shemaroo, Discovery Plus, Flickstree. But, the user-generated content such as videos on social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube, will be out of the Ministry’s jurisdiction.

The interesting part is that the news and current affairs content on online platforms’, has been added as a subcategory of “Films” but not the “Press”.

This move is nothing sort of unexpected as the Indian Government was trying to regulate online media platforms, and were looking to create the same set of regulations as the print and electronic media.

Also Read: Big Blow to Google Pay and PhonePe: NPCI Caps Third Party UPI Transactions to 30% in India

Industry’s Reaction on Government’s Intervention

Government Censors Netflix Prime Video
Sacred Games: Netflix’s first original series in India

Many Industry insiders are welcoming the move as it brings more clarity on who looks over the content on this digital media platform while some are fearing the government’s intervention in the content on these digital platforms since the notification allows the government to take action on content if it’s not fit according to their liking. Well, that surely means that the government of India now has the authority to censor content on these digital platforms unlike earlier, which made these OTT platforms shelter creators who were looking for creative freedom from the government.



Udimi - Buy Solo Ads from TechQuila https://ift.tt/3lmukTT
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9 VCs in Madrid and Barcelona discuss the COVID-19 era and look to the future

Spain’s startup ecosystem has two main hubs: Madrid and Barcelona. Most observers place Barcelona first and Madrid second, but the gap appears to close every year. Barcelona has benefitted from attracting expats in search of sun, beach and lifestyle who tend to produce more internationally minded startups. Madrid’s startups have predominantly been Spain or Latin America-focused, but have become increasingly international in nature. Although not part of this survey, we expect Valencia to join next year, as city authorities have been going all-out to attract entrepreneurs and investors. The overall Spanish ecosystem is generally less mature than those in the U.K., France, Sweden and Germany, but it has been improving at a fast clip. More recently, entrepreneurs in Spain have moved away from emulating success in pursuit of innovative technologies. Following the financial crisis, the Spanish government supported the creation of startups with the launch of FOND-ICO GLOBAL, a €1.5 billi
Post a Comment
Read more

How to Stay Creative and Keep SEO in Mind

Information Technology Blog - - How to Stay Creative and Keep SEO in Mind - Information Technology Blog Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to customizing your website’s content to ensure that web browsers give your website a high SEO score. The sites with the highest SEO scores are featured on the search engine’s first page of search results for relevant searches.  71%  of the click-throughs happen with articles listed on the first page of results on the search engine. This means that if your website’s article is the second (or third, or fourth page), it’s less likely the search user will even see your article. You want your article to be ranking as close to the top of the first page of results as possible. In order to have a good SEO score your site’s content needs to feature keywords and relevant phrases. It must be optimized for easy navigation between pages. It also needs to be referenced via external links that drive traffic to your site. Incorporating all of these elem
Post a Comment
Read more

Digital World And SEO Challenges In 2020

Information Technology Blog - - Digital World And SEO Challenges In 2020 - Information Technology Blog Can you imagine a life without any digital intervention? Certainly not! We are dependent on the assistance of smart gadgets from ordering food to our tables to book tickets for vacations. Humans are utterly reliant on a masterpiece they have built with their incredible intellects. I am amazed by this. Let’s have a broader look into it. The Era Of Digital Marketing We exist in a time where every single business entity requires assistance from the digital market. It has now put an end to conventional marketing practices. To get your product the desired popularity, one must choose an E-commerce business approach. According to a survey , almost 3.4 billion people (approx. 85% of users) spend about six and a half hours browsing the web. Your customers will be more likely to do an online purchase rather than buying it from a nearby store. So, get a cool website built, use the best pos
Post a Comment
Read more