“Netflix Inc and Hotstar’s uncensored content seems to have riled some section of Indian society”

The paid online streaming services, Netflix and Hotstar have consented to show only censored content in India. The platforms, which have been celebrated by multiple Indian viewers for giving them access to uncensored content, have agreed to self-regulate and not broadcast uncensored content. As reported by ‘ThePrint’, the agreement was made during a meeting held on 25th October between Netflix and Indian Ministry of Information and broadcasting, along with other dignitaries.

Both Netflix and Hotstar have agreed to remove uncensored content from their platforms that are obscene according to Indian standards. Moreover, the source familiar with the development says that the streaming services have adopted the “best practices internationally” and agreed to work under a set of guidelines to self-regulate the content they broadcast.

Update: Netflix has issued a statement in which it denies the report. The statement reads: “The information quoted is inaccurate and entirely false. Netflix was never in this meeting.” Original report continues below.

Netflix is also asked to provide a note on the guidelines. “Yes, there was a discussion of self-regulation and Netflix and Hotstar agreed that they should regulate their content,” a top ministry official, who did not want to be named, told ThePrint. Representatives of 21st Century Fox, Intel Sat, AFNT India, Intel India, Google, Star TV India, Apple, and the US-India Business Council were also present at the meeting.

The regulation could be based on the petition filed by a Delhi-based NGO in October. The NGO called Justice for Rights filed a petition in the Delhi High Court to remove “vulgar and explicit” content from streaming services last month. The firm has alleged that the streaming services offered “vulgar, sexually explicit, pornographic, profane, virulent, religiously forbidden and morally unethical content” to attract more subscribers and increase profit.

It’s worth mentioning that Amazon Prime Video – another widely used OTT service – took self-censorship route while entering India back in 2016. So far, there are norms to regulate the TV and film content only, while over-the-top services like Hotstar and Netflix have been free of any such control in India. The millions of viewers who are actively using the platforms will now have to bear their favourite shows and movies with beeps and blur effect.