OTT Content Debate: I&B Secretary Says Players Should Be Cognisant Of Country’s Culture

Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra on Thursday (April 13) said that the government’s ‘soft-touch’ regulatory approach towards the over-the-top (OTT) streaming space has led to some content that is ‘not desirable’.

Speaking at an event in Mumbai, Chandra asked the OTT players to be cognisant of the concerns and culture of the country while producing content

“… there are concerns that this (these) soft-touch regulations may have led to some content which is not desirable. We would request the industry to be cognizant of the concerns and culture of the country,” said Chandra

Elaborating on the government’s stance on regulation of the OTT streaming space, he said that the Centre had gone for a ‘very soft-touch’ approach which lays impetus on self-regulation of content. Noting that the ministry is happy with the current approach, Chandra said that content-related complaints are dealt with on three levels – the content producer, the industry body and finally the I&B Ministry.

He also said that the Centre is working on a National Broadcasting Policy which would also cover the OTT space

Chandra said that the new national policy is necessitated as the current broadcasting ecosystem is fragmented into several parts with conflicting interests. Specifically pointing out media broadcasters and OTT players, he added that the Indian broadcast arena has different mechanisms, regulations and tariffs, and this mandates a new policy.

He also said that the government is working to revamp the Cinematograph Act which could include provisions empowering the Centre to block websites hosting pirated content.

Touting the homegrown Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic (AVGC) sector, Chandra said that the space has huge content creation potential. Besides, the I&B Ministry has also accepted the contents of the AVGC Task Force report and plans to take up the matter at the Cabinet level soon. 

Vulgarity Or Censorship?

The I&B Secretary’s comments come days after actor Salman Khan raised questions on vulgarity being shown on OTT platforms.

“I really think there should be censorship in the medium (OTT). All these vulgarity, nudity, (and) swearing should stop. Kids as young as 15 or 16 years old can watch them. Would you like it if your young daughter watches it? I just think the content on OTT should be checked,” he said. 

The statement added fuel to an already raging fiery debate around supposed obscenity and vulgarity on OTT platforms. Prior to that, I&B Minister Anurag Thakur also told OTT platforms that vulgarity and abusive language are not acceptable in the name of creativity. He warned the streaming sites of stringent action to curb the use of abusive language and vulgarity in OTT content. 

On the regulatory front, multiple provisions of the Indian Penal Code, IT Act, 2000 and IT Rules, 2021 bar the transmission, distribution, circulation and exhibition of obscene materials. These rules also put the impetus on intermediaries and platforms to ensure that no such material is hosted knowingly. 

While the Centre largely has opted for a self-regulatory approach towards OTT platforms, the streaming sites have had multiple run-ins with the Indian authorities. Earlier this year, the Delhi High Court (HC) took cognisance of a similar matter involving a webseries called ‘College Romance’ on Sony Liv and called the show ‘obscene, lascivious and profane’.

In 2021, a plea in the Supreme Court sought a ban on ‘Mirzapur’ webseries on Amazon Prime Video for alleged obscenity, vulgar depiction of women and showing the namesake city in a bad light. The petition was later dismissed.

The homegrown OTT space is dominated by players such as Disney+Hotstar, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Voot, Zee5, among others. 

As per a report, the Indian OTT streaming market is projected to soar to a size of $12.5 Bn by 2030.