3 broad objectives announced to regulate OTT platforms, digital media: I-B Secretary

Amit Khare, Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Friday said that the ministry has set three broad objectives to regulate Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms and digital media.

New Delhi: Amit Khare, Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Friday said that the ministry has set three broad objectives to regulate Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms and digital media.

"Three broad objectives have been set -- Institutional mechanism, grievance system which empowers citizen, and level playing field with different media to regulate the sector," the I&B Secretary said.

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Amit Khare further said: "We understand the types of media are different amongst each other completely. The print is different from Television, TV is different from films and films are different from web series. We cannot have the same criteria all over but there should be some sort of similarity in the goal post."

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He also said that a level playing field does not mean the same field for everybody but some sort of similarity in the regulation of media should be present.

"What was announced yesterday is a soft touch, self-regulatory mechanism with minimal interference of the government," Khare added.

On Thursday, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar and Ravi Shankar Prasad announced the new policies for the OTT platform and digital media.

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This comes as the content on OTT platforms had recently fuelled controversy, leading to public outcry and the booking of makers of some programs.

(ANI)