The government has issued an order bringing online news portals and content providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and other OTT platforms under the Information and Broadcasting ministry. The notification, signed by President Ram Nath Kovind, was issued on Monday. At present, there is no law or autonomous body governing digital content.

The Press Council of India takes care of the print media, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) monitors news channels, the Advertising Standards Council of India is for advertising while the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) takes care of films. Now, online platforms will be regulated by the Union ministry headed by Prakash Javadekar.

Recommended Read: Film, TV production activities to resume with SOP: I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar announces guidelines under ‘contact minimisation’ principle

The Supreme Court had last month sought the Centre’s response on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) for regulating OTT platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video by an autonomous body. The PIL stated that digital content on these platforms is made available to the public at large without any filter or screening.

However, none of the OTTplatforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime, ZEE5, and Hotstar have signed the self-regulation provided by the I&B ministry since February 2020, the plea had alleged.

(Source: Twitter)