Appreciating the growing concern over alleged vulgar and objectionable content and language in the Over the Top (OTT) platforms, the Government will soon issue guidelines for regulation of the OTT contents, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The Minister said in the Zero Hour that many suggestions and complaints on the regulation of OTT platforms have been received. “Guidelines and direction are almost ready. It will be soon implemented,” Javadekar said.
Earlier, raising the issue Mahesh Poddar (BJP) said the content and language on OTT platforms was discriminatory and offensive. Objectionable content on OTT platforms includes sexual discrimination and abusive language, he said adding that the Government should, without delay, implement the Internet regulations.
There are at least 40 OTT platforms, including global ones such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar (Disney Plus), and hundreds of news content websites.
Raising the issue of Indians stuck on a ship in the China Sea since last year, Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena) asked the Government to bring them back on priority.
Shipping Minister Mansukh L Mandaviya said the issue will be resolved in a short time and the crew will return home. He said 23 sailors on one ship — MV Jag Anand — have already returned home and the Indian Government is in touch with the Chinese authorities for the return of 16 Indian crew on another vessel, MV Anastasia.