The core purpose of the toolkit, IAMAI said, is to lay down procedures to bring into effect various provisions of the code

Seventeen of India’s largest streaming services on Thursday launched a self-regulation toolkit, under the aegis of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), pre-empting government plans to bring out a code for all over-the-top (OTT) services.

The streaming services said the Implementation Toolkit, a code, is a step forward from the Universal Self-Regulation Code IAMAI had launched in September that was rejected by the government.

The signatories were ZEE5, Viacom 18 (VOOT), Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, SonyLIV, MX Player, Jio Cinema, Eros Now, ALTBalaji, Arre, Hoichoi, Hungama, Shemaroo, Discovery Plus, Aha, and Lionsgate Play.

The core purpose of the toolkit, IAMAI said, is to lay down procedures to bring into effect various provisions of the code. It also aims to address the views of the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry on conflict of interest and prohibited content.

Earlier this week, I&B minister Prakash Javadekar told Parliament guidelines and directives for OTT platforms are almost ready and will be implemented soon. The ministry had formally taken OTT under its wing in November. The government clamour for a code comes in the wake of makers of shows like Tandav and Mirzapur 2 being slapped with FIRs and government summons.

After prodding from the government, 15 OTT platforms had come together under IAMAI in September to sign a code of self-regulation, formulating a framework for age classification, appropriate content description, and access control. The ministry, however, rejected the code and asked IAMAI to look at a two-tier complaints mechanisms that would allow for an independent monitoring organisation, just as general entertainment channels are monitored by the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council.

The I&B ministry did not immediately respond to Mint’s query on the revised code by the OTT firms.

Click here to read the Mint ePaperMint is now on Telegram. Join Mint channel in your Telegram and stay updated with the latest business news.

Log in to our website to save your bookmarks. It'll just take a moment.

Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.

Your session has expired, please login again.

You are now subscribed to our newsletters. In case you can’t find any email from our side, please check the spam folder.