All Online News Portals Such As Netflix, Amazon Prime Video Brought Under Govt Regulation

New Delhi: Online mediums, including films and news content, are now under the purview of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The I&B ministry will also regulate online audio-visual programmes and current affairs content, according to the amendment order signed by President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday.

In other words, digital content providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hotsar will now be regulated by the Union ministry headed by Prakash Javadekar, Hindustan Times (HT) reported.

The move comes following a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by an autonomous body for regulating OTT platforms. Last month, the Supreme Court had sought the Centre’s response on it The PIL stated that digital content on these platforms is made available to the public at large without any filter or screening, HT reported.

A bench comprising Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian had issued notices to the central government, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

None of the OTT/streaming platforms 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.