Priyanka Khimani on Tandav case: Doesn't solve issue of people taking offence

Entertainment lawyer says onus on creators to toe the line of caution as I&B Ministry introduces three-tier checks for OTT content, calls for classification of stories basis age

Barely a month after Amazon Prime Video’s Tandav faced the furore of people and had to undergo snipping of ‘contentious’ scenes, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, on Thursday, released a set of guidelines, titled Information Technology  (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021. The move, viewed by many as a means to curtail the creative freedom of video-streaming platforms, comes three months after the government had first announced that OTT players will come under the ambit of the I&B Ministry.

According to the new rules, video-streaming platforms will have to follow a three-tier regulatory mechanism for compliance of ‘Code of Ethics’: self-regulation, regulation by the self-regulating bodies of the platform that will be headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge or high court judge, and finally, oversight mechanism by the central government. The last step will involve the I&B Ministry forming an inter-departmental committee for addressing grievances.

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OTT platforms are expected to put a grievance redressal mechanism in place, where any grievance moved by users will have to be registered within 24 hours and disposed of in 15 days. Complaints against the dignity of users, particularly women, have to be addressed within 24 hours.

Reputed entertainment lawyer Priyanka Khimani notes that the guidelines are painted in broad strokes, without solving the issue at hand. “It doesn’t solve the problem of people taking offence against stories. ‘Ethnically objectionable’, ‘threatening the integrity of the country’ – these are broad terms [that have been used]. It puts the onus on creators and storytellers to toe the line of caution.” She adds that the ability to tell stories with abandon might be curtailed. “Now, there is a sense of over caution, wanting to check and re-check. Lawyers are brought in at a nascent stage to vet concepts and stories. While checking if something is offensive or sexist or racist is an evolved way of telling stories, people are quick to react and judge without [understanding] the context. A lot of this offence-taking is needless sensationalism. If you take away the ability to reflect and comment on the state of affairs, what survives in a democracy?”

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Another important feature of the guidelines was that OTT platforms will have to classify their content according to different age groups: U, U/A(7+), 13+, 16+ and A. The streaming giants will also have to employ parental locks. “The parameters of classification have been carefully elucidated,” adds Khimani.

At the press conference, I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar noted that OTT platforms were repeatedly asked to form self-regulation rules, but to no avail. “After the first meeting with OTT platforms, they didn’t come up with anything. Post the second meeting, and after waiting for six months, we decided to have an institutional mechanism. We have CBFC for films, and programme code (BCCC) for television. The same programme code [for television] will be followed for OTT platforms. We are not bringing censorship to films on OTT.”

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