Soon, you may be able to object to online content, but will this spell good news for OTTs?

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You may have seen a disclaimer running on television channels informing you to raise complaints against any objectionable content.

What if, you could now do the same for content available online?

This could be a possibility if Digital Content Complaint Council (DCCC), which currently has five signatories including Hotstar, Jio, Network 18, Eros and SonyLiv, becomes a reality.

Reportedly, Internet and Mobile Association of India  (IAMAI) is working on a new code of conduct which will lead to the formation of DCCC that will accept complaints raised by consumers as well as government bodies.

But what is the need of DCCC if over the top (OTTs) platforms are opting for self-regulation?

In 2019, as many as six OTT players had signed the Self-Regulatory Code which was considered to be a move to avoid censorship by government.

According to IAMAI, if complaints are getting unaddressed by video streaming platforms under Self-Regulatory Code, then consumers as well as governments can raise complaints and escalate their grievances to DCCC.

The process of raising complaints could be similar to what it is for television channels, believe experts. There will be numbers and mail ids issued where consumers will have to mention their details along with the title of the show, details about the alleged offence, give reasons as to why s/he feels that the particular show was not in compliance with the content guidelines.

A similar procedure is followed for TV content. It is believed that DCCC will be on the lines of the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC).

So, is DCCC a step in the right direction for the online video players?

Some players are saying DCCC will mean increased censorship in the OTT space.

The fact that both viewers and government bodies can raise objections is considered as regulatory overreach by some OTTs.

Remember, when Sacred Games got into trouble after many political parties alleged that the show defamed India's late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Another show called Madam Secretary on Amazon Prime Video had to delete an entire episode after objections were raised for its India version.

However, Utkarsh Sinha, MD, Bexley Advisors, a boutique investment bank focused early stage deals in tech and media, believes that IAMAI's foray into the OTT space could be encouraging because as a self-regulatory body DCCC's jurisdiction would be limited.

The new code of conduct by IAMAI will classify content under various categories and parental control including disrespecting the national emblem and flag, promoting terrorism or violence against the State and shows children in sexual acts. However, outraging religious sentiments will be not be part of prohibited content under content regulated by DCCC unlike the Self-Regulatory code.

According to Sinha, self-regulation is the only way to go in the OTT space.

"Anything additional will be difficult to enforce," he added.

By anything additional he means government intervention. Shakir Ebrahim, founder, GoBisbo Broadcasting Network concurs saying that censorship by the government would mean more restrictions.

"OTT is something that needs to be as unregulated as possible. The boom in creativity in content will be affected the moment over regulation picks up," said Sinha.

Plus, too much regulation will mean people looking for options like Torrent to get uncensored content, he added.

Too much censorship could also impact the subscriber base of the OTT platforms, believes Sinha.

“This (OTT) industry is booming so much, small companies are getting business and it employs people in large numbers,” added Ebrahim.

N Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research believes that online content is not easy to regulate.

This is why he thinks that OTTs should do more than self-censorship. While Chandramouli is not in favour of censorship he doesn't think that self-censorship will work.

“There are many platforms and most of the content is borrowed. If you take the international content then that becomes a more complex issue. Ideally, self-censorship is the best. But so many complaints have gone to the government saying there is no regulation of online content. If OTT players who had signed up for Self-Regulatory Code last year were complying to the standards the new code of conduct would not have come up.”