Centre's guidelines for OTT platforms leave the entertainment industry divided
What's the story
On Thursday, the federal government released new guidelines to regulate OTT (over-the-top) content, sparking different opinions from people involved in the industry.
While creators like Ekta Kapoor, whose brainchild ALTBalaji has given space to budding filmmakers, welcomed the move, many others like filmmaker Onir and noted personality Pritish Nandy, criticized it.
The new rules will also impact digital news media and social media sites.
Support
Priyadarshan, Prasoon Joshi, and Vikram Bhatt supported the decision
Not only Kapoor, film personalities like Priyadarshan, Prasoon Joshi, and Vikram Bhatt, expressed their support to the government
Priyadarshan said the guidelines "respect the artistic freedom while providing an avenue for redressal of citizen grievances."
Director Nila Madhab Panda, known for films like I am Kalam and Kadvi Hawa, agreed that digital media must be used in a responsible manner.
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It is not censorship, said Bhatt
"The government isn't saying "do not make this." All they're saying is, whatever you make, there should be enough information out there for the viewers to know what kind of shows they're watching. There's no cause of concern as there's no censorship, (sic)" Bhatt added.
Twitter Post
Will level the playing field: Kapoor
Heartening to see the new guidelines that provide a level playing field for digital news media and OTT platforms. #ResponsibleFreedom
— Ekta Kapoor (@ektarkapoor) February 25, 2021
Criticism
In contrast, Onir felt this move marks 'death of cinema'
Onir known for films like My Brother... Nikhil, opposed the move, saying it marks the "death of cinema and good content."
"Stab the artist and keep everyone happy. The worst that a democracy can do to an artist is this regulation of OTT, (sic)" he said, as per PTI.
Nandy, who had backed web-series Four More Shots Please, also expressed discontent.
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'This is time for the government to tread carefully'
"One mistake and the entire credibility of the mechanism can disappear. That's what we must understand and reckon with in these difficult times. It is just a beginning and the government ought to tread carefully if it wants to emerge as a global soft power, (sic)" said Nandy.
Information
What do the new guidelines say?
The new rules bring organizations under a three-tier regulatory framework: self-regulation (Level I); self-regulation by the self-regulating bodies (Level II); and the government's oversight mechanism (Level III).
The government has asked OTT platforms to self-classify their content on the basis of age — U (Universal), U/A 7+ (years), U/A 13+, U/A 16+, and A (Adult).
OTT platforms didn't react to the guidelines right away.
Background
Online content has been courting controversies
To note, streamers like Amazon and Netflix had been self-regulating their content, but their offerings sparked controversies.
Recently, Amazon Prime Video's Tandav faced legal trouble as it was accused of hurting religious sentiments. Multiple FIRs were lodged against the team and just yesterday, the Allahabad High Court refused to grant pre-arrest bail to one executive.
Shows like Mirzapur had also faced scrutiny.