The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has drafted a code of self-regulation for video streaming OTT platforms, reports The Economic Times. IAMAI officials confirmed the existence of the draft to MediaNama, and said that it would be released tomorrow, 17 January. MediaNama has not been able to access this draft. According the ET report, the document is called 'Code of Best Practices for Online Curated Content Providers.' It disallows OTT platforms from streaming the following kind of content: content banned by Indian courts; content disrespecting the national emblem; content which outrages religious sentiments; content which promotes violence against the states or terrorism; sexual acts by children Within the code exists a grievance redressal mechanism, according to which: Within every company in the business of being an OTT platform, there must be a 'Content Compliance Committee' with a 'Content Compliance Officer' The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Ministry of Electronics, Information and Technology (MeitY) can receive complaints from viewers and send them to companies. Precedence on content regulation There have been cases in Indian courts seeking to regulate or censor content in the online space, the latest being The Accidental Prime Minister and Sacred Games. The High Court refused to entertain the petition against The Accidental Prime Minister where the petitioner sought a ban on the trailer of the film from YouTube and Google, and a ban on the film. The petitioner, Pooja Mahajan, moved to SC seeking an urgent hearing in her plea which was refused. In the…
