OTT platforms 'welcomed' new digital guidelines, says Javadekar

Union information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday held a follow-up meeting with OTT platforms and Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) to discuss the Center’s new guidelines on digital content regulation. The new rules have been “welcomed” by both parties, said Javadekar, adding that certain changes were suggested by the representatives which have been noted by the government.

“In a follow up to meeting with OTT platforms, held an interaction with Digital News Publishers Association today. Discussed new rules for digital media. They welcomed the new rules & offered few suggestions which I have noted,” the minister tweeted.

DNPA is an industry body formed by ten publishing houses Dainik Bhaskar, NDTV, Hindustan Times, Indian Express, India Today, Times of India, Amar Ujala, Dainik Jagran, Eenadu and Malayala Manorama. It was established in 2018 with the aim to curb the spread of fake news.

The new guidelines for regulating digital news platforms and OTT content providers is titled Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Minister for electronics and information technology (MeitY) Ravi Shankar Prasad had described it as “a soft-touch, self-regulatory architecture and a Code of Ethics and a three-tier grievance redressal mechanism for news publishers and OTT Platforms and digital media,”.

Javadekar had previously held a meeting with the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI), a representative body of Netflix, Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Facebook and Twitter, on March 4. The body had “welcomed” the introduction of the guidelines. “IAMAI has welcomed the much-awaited Intermediary Guidelines 2021. The guidelines, focused primarily on consumer complaints, will help users of online content and social media resolve their complaints in a process-oriented manner," it said.

The Supreme Court while hearing the bail plea of Amazon executive Aparna Purohit had remarked that new guidelines “lack teeth” and solicitor general Tushar Mehta had sought for two weeks time to come up with a draft on the suggestions given by the court.

DIGIPub News India Foundation, another industry body representing digital-only journalists and publishers which had written to both Javadekar and Prasad expressing their reservations about the new rules, were not a part of today’s meeting.