Govt. Refuses To Censor Netflix, Amazon Prime; Self-Regulation Will Be Supported!

Great news coming in for fans for OTT apps and on-demand entertainment platform such Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and others.



As per reports coming in, Govt has decided to support freedom of creativity, and has refused to censor these apps.



Instead, Govt. is supporting self-regulation of the content streamed online.



Govt. Will Not Censor Netflix, Amazon Prime



During the CII Big Picture Summit 2019, Amit Khare, secretary, ministry of information and broadcasting was present, wherein he hinted that Govt. is not in a mood to censor the content online via OTT apps.



This is a big relief to the creators, and producers of these digital shows, and the owners of these OTT platforms, who are pumping in millions of dollars to produce engaging content.



As per the statements made by Amit, it is clear that Govt. will encourage self-regulation path for the OTT apps.



During the event, Amit said, “We’ve been in consultation with players in Mumbai and Chennai lately and are working towards a system of self-regulation for the OTT industry,”



As per Mint report, Govt. is aware that the entire business and creative model of on-demand streaming and OTT apps is different than television and movies, and censorship for the digital content will be impractical.



Self-Regulation Path Will Be Supported



Last year, all the leading streaming providers and OTT apps worked with Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and created Code of Best Practices.



The codes and rules mentioned in this doctrine imposes self-regulation of content from these OTT apps, and ensured that content will be categorized as per the age of the viewer.



Besides Netflix, other participants of this self-regulation doctrine were Alt-Balaji, Hotstar, Voot, ZEE5, Arre, SonyLIV, Reliance Jio and Eros Now.



Amazon Prime didn’t sign up for this self-regulation doctrine.

However, soon after this self-regulation code was established by the OTT apps, Govt. received complaints about shows such as Leila, Sacred Games on Netflix and Gandi Baat on Alt Balaji, which were accused of showing inappropriate content.



Accusations were made of hurting religious sentiments, and talks were on to impose censorship on the content shown on the OTT apps. Even PILs were filed in the Supreme Court, for banning Netflix and Amazon Prime.



However now, it seems that the censorship will not happen.



We will keep you updated, as more details come in.

