The blog would discuss the balanced regulatory framework that is effective for OTT platforms along with the requirement for censorship of content and the laws that are enacted to regulate the platforms.

INTRODUCTION

The Internet has become a platform for unprecedented freedom of speech and expression. You can say or do almost anything online, without having to answer anyone or even present yourself in a certain way. That is the beauty of the Internet. But with great freedom comes great responsibility, and it is becoming increasingly clear that some of the services we use on the Internet are not doing enough to regulate the content that is being shared on their platforms. We live in a world where we can communicate with anyone, anywhere, at any time. This has brought us closer together, but it has also allowed us to stay in our own little worlds.

We no longer have to go to a coffee shop to meet new people, we can meet new people online through our phones and computers. In the past, we had to go out and interact with others in the real world to develop relationships and build communities. The world is becoming more and more digital. The internet has opened up a range of opportunities, allowing us to communicate and interact with people across the globe. But how did we get here? In the early days, people connected to the internet through dial-up connections, which were slow and caused connection errors. Digital platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have changed the way we communicate with each other. We use these platforms to stay in touch with friends and family, share our experiences, and learn about the world around us. Today, more than 2 billion people use social media platforms, and more than half of all adults are on at least one social media site. When you look at your phone, you can see that these platforms are a part of almost everyone’s lives. Today, we all have access to more information than at any other time in our history. Yet, all that information is useless if we don’t know what to do with it. That’s where OTT platforms come in. They help us organize, collate, and act on the information that’s available to us. Over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and YouTube have become the dominant communication channels across the world. In the past, telecom companies controlled the flow of information in their territories.

Today, OTT players have taken on that role. They are the new gatekeepers of our online world. Platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp are the most popular methods for people to communicate with one another. They are also the most popular methods for people to share news, discuss current events, and exchange opinions. In a sense, these platforms are the modern equivalent of the town square or the public park: places where people go to exchange ideas and opinions. In the past, governments had the power to regulate certain aspects of the public square: for example, they could determine which kinds of speech were permissible and which were not. The world is changing fast. In the past, traditional institutions such as banks, governments and corporations had a monopoly on their respective services. Today, however, the power is in the hands of the people. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter provide the means for people to share their ideas and opinions with the world.

WHAT IS OTT?

Over-the-top content, also known as OTT, is a term used to describe content that is distributed through a non-traditional channel, such as a social media platform or an app. OTT content includes things like podcasts, YouTube videos, and other types of digital content that are delivered to consumers through a variety of online platforms. The rise of online video streaming or OTT platforms like Netflix and YouTube has meant that we can watch and listen to entertainment and news wherever we happen to be. Streaming platforms have become the dominant way that people consume video content, and have had a huge impact on the media industry. Today, everyone has the means to produce and share video content. As a result, video content is becoming an increasingly important part of our daily lives. Video streaming platforms are now a part of our lives and have become a platform for social interaction. As more people use the internet, the volume of digital content has increased dramatically. The internet is the largest distribution platform, and video content is its most popular form. As the user base grows, online video streaming platforms have become the most important discovery mechanisms for new content and the most effective channels for content creation. Today, people are producing and consuming content in new ways. They are making original content on platforms, such as YouTube, and sharing their content via social networks. Online video streaming platforms like YouTube, Netflix, Prime, Hotstar, etc. have transformed the way we watch television.[i] These platforms have allowed us to watch videos from around the world and also to access content from the past and the future. They have also enabled new forms of social connectivity, allowing us to connect with friends and family and to share with them the content that interests us.

NEED FOR CENSORSHIP OF OTT PLATFORMS

Censorship is the act of removing, altering or preventing speech, literature, or other forms of communication because such material is offensive, indecent, impious, or otherwise contrary to the public interest. Censorship is a dirty word, often associated with autocratic regimes and far-right radicals. But in today’s digital world, a certain kind of censorship or, more accurately, content regulation is necessary to ensure a fair and equitable platform for all. In an era where the biggest internet companies are increasingly serving as the intermediaries between citizens and the world, it is only appropriate that they be held accountable for the content that flows through their platforms. The government or other authorities can censor speech, literature, or other forms of expression that they consider to be harmful. Censorship can take many forms, from the acts of government officials to the acts of private individuals. Some censors have a specific set of values they want to promote. For example, a government may choose to prohibit any speech that contains obscenity. India is a vibrant democracy with a storied past of social and economic progress and a population of 1.3 billion.

The economy has grown at a rapid pace, lifting millions of people out of poverty. The country has also become a digital powerhouse, with a growing internet population and some of the most advanced technology companies in the world.[ii] But India has a dark side too, a side that is often in the shadows. The country is also known for its tolerance and diversity. However, in recent years, India has faced a growing threat to its tradition of free speech. In recent years, the country has been making headlines for entirely different reasons. One of the biggest issues facing India today is censorship on social media. This has been particularly true on WhatsApp, which is the country’s most popular social network. India is one of the most fascinating countries in the world. It is also home to one of the largest and most dynamic economies in the world. Despite its economic strength, however, India has faced some significant challenges. One of these is censorship, which has grown in scope and intensity over the years.[iii]

In recent years, Indian social media users have become accustomed to seeing the blue censorship bar on Facebook and Twitter. But this isn’t the only way in which the government censors content in India. Increasingly, the government has turned to outright censorship of content, through the use of laws, rather than the simple removal of content from platforms. This has led to a far more difficult situation for social media users in India, where they are unable to share opinions and ideas freely, and instead have to self-censor to avoid the risk of being punished by the government. OTT regulations are a more specific type of censorship. They are laws that are used to restrict the freedom of speech. The terms oft regulation and oft regulation regulations are often used interchangeably and are used synonymously in the field of censorship and regulation.[iv] They are laws passed by government authorities, usually local, state, or federal, that restrict the freedom of speech. Online video streaming platforms and OTT services are changing the way we watch and experience content. These platforms are rapidly expanding their content offerings, providing viewers with more and more options for the types of content they want to watch. Over the past year, the Indian government has taken several steps to regulate online video streaming platforms and OTT services, including Netflix, Hotstar, and Amazon Prime Video.[v] This provides an overview of the regulatory changes that have occurred so far and examines what else the Indian government may do to regulate online video streaming platforms and OTT services. In the past years, several online video streaming platforms have come under the regulatory scanner in India. In October 2017, Airtel’s Zeroiz launched a music-focused streaming platform in the country. However, in November, the video content on the platform was found to infringe copyright. This forced the telco to pull the plug on the streaming app.

REGULATING OTT CONTENT

Following Cabinet Minister Piyush Goyal’s recommendation that the entertainment industry self-regulate their OTT platforms, claiming that they may portray Indian society negatively, 15 platforms signed a self-regulation code, drafted under the auspices of the Internet and Mobile Association of India, to govern their streaming content. This would be accomplished through the use of content descriptions and the specification of maturity ratings. The platforms did this to avoid censorship. This code has gone through three revisions, the most recent being in September 2020. However, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) opted to abandon the code since it contained a comprehensive list of forbidden items and there were no satisfactory redressal mechanisms.

After hearing a petition to regulate OTT platforms, the Supreme Court issued a Notice to IAMAI and the Centre in November 2020, following which a notification was issued stating that all Online Curated Content Providers (OCCPs), including OTT platforms, fall under the purview of the Ministry of Information and Broadcast rather than MEITY. OTT being under MIB would be a change in administrative authority, and a shift to a more ministerial MIB would pave the way for the government to draught regulations and publish a list of illegal content.

The most recent update, as of February 20, 2021, is that the government issued rules called the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, which discuss a three-tier regulating structure for digital news media and OTT platforms. These recommendations for OTT platforms state that they must comply with Indian laws, not stream content that violates India’s integrity and sovereignty, ensure the country’s security, maintain good relations with foreign countries, and not stream content that may disrupt public order. The platforms have also been wary of different ethnic and religious views and behaviours. They need to establish a three-tiered redressal procedure. The first tier will be a grievance resolution process established by the platforms themselves. The second tier is a self-regulatory body led by a former Supreme Court or High Court Judge or another distinguished individual.[vi] The government would establish an inter-ministerial committee (IMC) as an “oversight mechanism” as the third layer. This committee will be constituted along the same lines as the BCCC, which is used by the television industry. Age ratings, such as ‘U’ or universal rating, and others based on age groupings, must also be provided by the platforms.

India is all set to go online, with video streaming platforms and OTT services mushrooming and the Broadcast Content Regulation Bill introduced in the parliament, regulating the same. The present scenario sees television channels and film producers scrambling to stake claims in the video streaming market. The regulation bill, if passed, will ensure that content creators receive due credit for their work and broadcasters keep the rights over their programs. The online video streaming platforms have been quick to cash in on the opportunity and the battle for market share has already begun. Online video streaming has become an integral part of our lives. We consume video content on smartphones, laptops, tablets, and televisions.[vii] The video content industry is booming and is a billion-dollar industry. The Internet has democratized content creation and distribution, and it has also levelled the playing field for those with a dream and a camera. India has a long history of online video streaming platforms, dating back to the days of first-generation video streaming sites like YouTube, which were blocked and unblocked frequently by various governments. The current era of online video streaming platforms, however, is much different from the earlier ones. The growth of online video streaming platforms has been accompanied by a significant increase in the number of online viewers and viewers in India. This has resulted in the need for online streaming platforms to follow a set of regulations and adhere to the rules of the government.[viii]

CAN OTT CONTENT BE REGULATED LIKE THEATRICAL RELEASES OR TELEVISION BROADCASTS?

The answer to this question is more complicated than it might initially seem. On the one hand, we often think of OTT content as being like the content we can watch on our televisions: the content that cable companies provide us. When we think of cable company content, we don’t think of it as being regulated. Instead, we think of it as being like the content we can watch in movie theatres or on television: the content that is subject to a variety of regulatory schemes. TV broadcasts and cinemas are not the same as OTT services.[ix] Unlike in the former, the audience in the latter has a choice in terms of the type of content they wish to view.

Content streamed on OTT Platforms is not broadcast, in the sense that it is not intended for public exhibition, but rather for private viewing, and thus cannot be regulated under the Cinematographic Act, 1952 (Padmanabh Shankar vs Union Of India)[x] and thus cannot be treated the same as television or cinema. Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory organisation under the MIB Ministry, and now that OTT services are included in the ministry’s purview, CBFC may become involved in censoring and filtering OTT content. If the CBFC is granted the authority to regulate and censor OTT content, it would suffer the same fate as cinema and TV broadcasts and will be censored based on “obscenity,” “immorality,” and “religious feelings,” all of which are imprecise and open-ended phrases, stifling creative freedom.[xi] The CBFC is renowned for abusing and overreaching its authority, as seen by unwarranted censorships of films such as Udta Punjab and NH10.

CONCLUSION

The world has changed a lot in the last decade. The internet has revolutionized our lives, and we now use it for everything from messaging friends to watching movies. But this wasn’t always the case. Just a few years ago, we used to watch movies on DVDs, and we would buy them from shops on the high street. The digital platforms, colloquially referred to as the “Web 3.0”, have been at the centre of a vigorous debate in the past few years on their role and influence on society. This has led to a lot of speculation about whether they need to be regulated, or whether they warrant censorship instead. In recent years, we’ve seen a huge shift in the way people consume media. Traditional cable companies have lost millions of subscribers as consumers turn to stream services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. The landscape is changing and traditional media companies are finding it difficult to keep up. But it’s not just the delivery of content that is being affected; the very nature of what is being produced is also changing. The regulatory landscape for online content has been shifting dramatically in recent years. Video streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, once considered simply a new delivery mechanism for pre-existing entertainment, are now producing their own original content, and their influence can be felt in the industry. But can online content be regulated in the same way as theatrical releases or television broadcasts? Or is it something else entirely? When most people think of movies, they think of the big screen: the theatre. The same is not true of movies delivered over the internet, commonly known as over-the-top content. While some OTT movies look and feel much like their theatrical counterparts, others are closer to television programming. But regardless of their format, OTT movies are subject to the same rules and regulations as their theatre and television counterparts. OTT content is changing the way we watch and consume entertainment. But how is it regulated? Traditional mediums like movies and TV are regulated by bodies like the FCC and the MPAA. This allows for a degree of control over what’s shown and how it’s shown. In an age of digital streaming and on-demand content, the lines between traditional media and entertainment are becoming increasingly blurred. Over-the-top (OTT) services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hotstar allow viewers to watch movies and television shows on their own schedule, without being limited to a cable or satellite provider. Because OTT providers offer viewers more choice, they can offer a wider variety of content than traditional television and movies. Because of this, many people have wondered if OTT content can be regulated like traditional forms of entertainment.

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[i] Himi Singla, Self- Regulation by Over-the-Top Platforms: A Study in Context of Video Streaming Services in India (2020), International Journal of Law Management & Humanities, Vol 3, Issue 4, 2020.

[ii] Manoj B A, Regulation of OTT Content in India: An Analysis (2020), Journal of   Xi’an University of Architecture & Technology, Vol 12, Issue 4, 2020.

[iii] Bhagavatula Naga Sai Sriram, Sandhiya K., Censorship in OTT Platforms: The Necessity (2020), Pen Acclaims, Vol 11, 2020

[iv] Sephali Svati, Classification of Content, Content Regulation and Ethics – OTT platforms in India (2021), International Journal of Legal Science and Innovation, Vol 3, Issue 4, 2021

[v] Aditya Baslas, Priyanka Deb, Nabeela Tareen, Shilpi Ghosh, Shweta Tated, Over the Top Media and Regulations, Legal Desire International Journal on Law, Part B, 2020

[vi] Sabreen Hussain, Sridattha Charan, Content Regulation and Censorship of Online Curated Content Providers in India (2020), International Journal of Law Management & Humanities, Vol 3, Issue 2, 2020

[vii] Advocate (Dr.) Manohar Wadhwani, Ott Streaming – A Conceptual Frame Work And Regulatory Approach (2021), Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education, Vol 12 No. 11, 2021.

[viii] Rahul M, Dr S. Dinesh Babu, A Comparative Study on OTT Platform Censorship and Policies in India (2021), Annals of R.S. C. B., Vol 25, Issue 6, 2021.

[ix] Nandini Biswas, The Legal Provisions that regulated Online Content before Information Technology ( Intermediary Guidelines And Digital Media Ethics Code ) Rules, 2021, International Journal For Legal Research & Analysis, Vol 1, Issue 10, 2021

[x] Writ Petition no.6050 of 2019 (C) PIL

[xi] Pratishtha Malhotra, Mishiks Ruhil, Regulatory Framework of OTT Platforms under the Indian Legal System (2021), Legal Desire International Journal on Law, Vol 8, Edition 27, 2021