New Delhi : Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar has said that his Ministry and industry will partner together to make the OTT experience better for all audiences.
In a virtual meeting with with the representatives of various over-the-top (OTT) entities today, Mr Javdekar said the government move was aimed at creating a progressive institutional mechanism for OTT players and develop a level playing field with the idea of self-regulation.
Platforms including Alt Balaji, Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Jio, Zee5, Viacom18, Shemaroo, MXPlayer participated in the meeting.
The I&B Minister said the government had received complaints from cinema and TV industries that while there were regulations for them, none existed for OTT industry.
Keeping this in account, the government created the new mechanism, he said.
Terming his meeting with representatives from OTT industry as fruitful , Mr Javdekar explained the provisions of the OTT rules. He said under these regulations OTT entities have to disclose information and that there is no requirement of registration of any kind with the ministry.
Furthermore, the rules focus on self -classification of content instead of any form of censorship. Also, Javadekar clarified that in the self-regulating body, no member will be appointed by the Government.
The I&B ministry, in the guidelines issued last week, had also asked the OTT platforms to set up a grievance redressal mechanism. For this, Javadekar said that OTT platforms are expected to develop an effective grievance redressal mechanism.
Further, under the rules, Javadekar informed that the government will create an Inter-Departmental Committee to look at complaints that remain unresolved at the self-regulatory level.
