A gazette notification released on Wednesday by the Central government states that all Over-The-Top platforms (Netflix, Hotstar, Prime Video etc..) and online news and film portals will fall under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting henceforth. The development assumes significance as there has been no law or autonomous body for regulating digital content.
President Ram Nath Kovind gave his nod to include online films and OTT platforms, digital news and current affairs content under the purview of the I&B Ministry which is currently being headed by Union Minister Prakash Javadekar.
A recently released news report has shed light on the fact that video streaming platforms have been taking undue advantage of the absence of a regulatory mechanism, which exists for film and television, which led to an increase in adult and explicit content being streamed especially during the covid-19 lockdown.
