OTT Platforms Regulation Archives - Lokmarg

Sanket ‘Katha’ Ray, a documentary film-maker and educator, says OTT platforms are slowly replacing the television programming format

With the democratisation of the medium, young filmmakers have broken the shackles of traditional filmmaking and are exploring stories beyond the studio-controlled environment. They are challenging the Bollywood formula and are bringing in stories which highlight the human condition in modern societies.

Take for example, Nasir (2020), a Tamil-language film directed by Arun Kartick. It is a portrait of a gentle person who negotiates with the communal tension of his surroundings with his poetry. His dreams, the hope for a better future, and his love for his wife, reflect the aspiration of every common man struggling with the complexity of the present-day society.

Another interesting film which captures the human condition is Asha Jaoar Majhe (2014) meaning Labour of Love, directed by Vikram Aditya Sengupta. The film is set against the backdrop of a spiraling recession that hit India a few years back. Faced with the uncertainty of losing their jobs, the film’s two central characters are under constant pressure to sustain their livelihood. However, even in the face of adversity, they seem to possess a serene power. Their demeanor displays a strange, comforting calmness.

One must also reflect on the contribution made by young filmmakers who have chosen documentary films to make their voices stand out. Among them is Payal Kapadia, whose film A Night of Knowing Nothing (2021), is expressed in the form of video-letters during an on-going student protest in a premiere film school.

ALSO READ: Apex Court Favours Regulation of OTT Content

These are a few examples, among many, which are shaping a new film movement in India. They are not necessarily entertaining as defined by commercial cinema, but they do portray and chronicle the human condition in today’s time.

OTT platforms are slowly replacing the television programming format. With easy access to the internet, youngsters are getting exposed to newer content every day. OTTs have provided a platform to young filmmakers to exhibit their works, bypassing the tedious and expensive module of theater-screening and television-broadcast. Their work is able to reach the audiences with ease, and a discourse of their work is shared in social media with an immediate effect. Hence, OTTs are proving to be a success among new filmmakers.

However, it is a long way to go as our audiences are still hung over with the typical masala movies. These new wave films are also challenging the film industry, which seems to be shifting its focus from ‘masala’ to meaningful films and web-series, to cater to the ever-growing audiences.

Post-Covid, the film industry, especially Bollywood, adopted the formula of ‘religion’, ‘nationalism’ and ‘us vs them’ to boost the sale of tickets. Apart from Pathan and Jawaan, none of the films really worked well at the box-office. With the onset of OTT and other platforms, the audience has been presented with choices of their liking. They have arrived at an understanding of films which are worth their time and money.

The medium of DVD has been systematically abolished and the films are easily available on the OTT platforms within a month of their release. This phenomenon has led to the decline of theater-viewing. Bollywood stars like Shahrukh and Salman Khan still draw the crowd. Rest of the ‘stars’ are trying to survive via OTTs.

As cliched as it may sound, whether it is a documentary, or a fictional drama, I prefer watching films which inspire me to become a better human being. As a practicing cinematographer and filmmaker, I would like to reach out to the people through various platforms. This includes film clubs and film societies too, which have a tradition of stimulating and insightful post-screening discussions. Not everyone can afford to book cinema halls for exhibiting their films. Hence, Youtube, Vimeo and other OTT platforms play a pivotal role in reaching out to the masses.

(The narrator graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, specialising in Cinematography and teaches filmmaking at Dr BR Ambedkar School of Specialised Excellence (SoSE), Delhi. His film This Is My Home (cinematographer and editor) has been showcased at the 17th Mumbai International Film Festival 2022, South Asian Short Film Festival (Kolkata, 2022), 14th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (2022), and was nominated for Sony’s World of Film Contest (2021). His other notable works include Village of Warriors (2021) and MidnightMirage (2021).)

As told to Amit Sengupta

For more details visit https://lokmarg.com/

Few would deny that the multi-millionaires who control social media outlets have garnered more power than is good for them or for ordinary citizens.

At first glance the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 introduced by the Narendra Modi government appears to be a brave attempt, where others have failed, to bring social media giants into line with other forms of publishing. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc have always insisted that they are merely platforms on which others publish material and so cannot be held responsible for any content that appears.

Public attitudes towards this hand-washing has shifted with the realisation of how damaging ‘fake news’, misogynistic trolling, racism and pornography can be not only to individuals but also to the body politic.

The advent of ‘social’ media has not only enhanced economic activity but also encouraged freedom of expression. It has democratised communication, bringing both heat and light to public discourse. But that invariably means that there is a dark side. There are plenty who will abuse this freedom and who do not or will not recognise that their rights extend only so far as they do not impose on other people’s. There are limitations to freedom of speech which it may require impartial adjudication in law.

One welcome element of these new Rules is the provision of a complaints mechanism, well-advertised and based in India, so that individuals who are maligned may seek redress.

The basis for such complaints has to be common terms of reference and the suggestion is that social media should comply with both the Press Council of India Code and the Programme Code of the 1995 Cable TV Network Regulations.

But that is one of the first major stumbling blocks. If the platform is not the originator of material how can the operators ensure that user-generated content is compliant? In effect they are being asked to take responsibility for literally moderating all material produced by people who may never have heard of these Codes and certainly will have played no part in devising them.

The new Rules require platform operators to advise users they must not flout the constraints placed on them by such Codes, and to swiftly remove content that does not comply, under orders from a court or a government agency.

And that is another major sticking point.

ALSO READ: Reasons Why State Of Indian Media Is Pliable

While the Rules claim, without irony, to be introducing a ‘self-regulatory system’, ultimate power to both define compliance and determine what is and is not acceptable rests with the government.

This applies as much to professional purveyors of news as it does to user-generated content on social media.

Since it is never difficult to find someone willing to complain about items that are critical or in any way challenging of those in power, this has an almost automatic ‘chilling’ impact on publishers of news and views. Self-censorship is quickly seen as the route to survival, and ‘state security’ quickly supersedes the public interest. Autocratic regimes from Belarus and Egypt to Vietnam and Zimbabwe have demonstrated how effectively that can control the news agenda.

The Cybersecurity Administration of China may illustrate the value to power elites of an overarching regulatory regime, but in the murky world of online communications control of news need not be so overt. Ostensibly Vietnam’s Law on Cybersecurity is designed to prevent harm to ‘national security, social order and safety, or the lawful rights and interests of agencies, organisations and individuals’, but in practice it is designed to keep all online traffic in line with the government’s strictures.

Meanwhile in Bangladesh a draconian Digital Security Act (DSA) has been used since 2018 to clamp down on freedom of expression, with journalists jailed and assaulted for criticising the government.

Something similar is happening in Myanmar where the military junta, not content with ‘disappearing’ journalists off the street, is working on laws to take charge of online content in its bid to crush opposition and identify its critics.

Many may feel relief that under Modi’s model, social media platforms will be expected to take down offensive or sexualised images, but few will happily concede that the government should determine what constitutes unacceptable or derogatory material. The use of key words to identify problematic copy is one of the easiest ways to monitor and thus control content, especially terms which might refer to government policies.

ALSO READ: Freedom Of The Press In India Is A Myth

The administrators of global social media platforms may not be best placed to handle the subtleties of cultural differences, but almost inevitably partisan government departments are certainly not the best arbiters of what is and is not acceptable in public discourse.

Having government officials determine those limits is seriously problematic, especially for journalists whose key task is to hold the powerful to account and to turn a spotlight onto the corrupt and the criminal. In a society riven by religious, political and caste divisions, the existence of both independent journalism and an independent judiciary is paramount to highlighting and determining disputes.

The Information Technology Rules 2021 may be a brave attempt to tackle issues that are perplexing societies around the world, but they are also a recipe for creeping censorship which requires robust scrutiny and resistance to ensure that a diversity of opinions and debate are able to flourish within and beyond the state.

There has been widespread criticism of Modi’s plan in the West, where efforts to control the internet without affecting online news content have also hit the inevitable obstacles.

The European Union is currently wrestling with the complexities of devising a Digital Services Act that will harmonise protection for citizens and consumers across 27 countries without curtailing press freedom. Journalists’ organisations have been vocal in their opposition to anything that might detract from their ability to scrutinise governments, investigate corruption and expose crime. They will be watching to see how their colleagues in India tackle the same issue.

(The author is a UK-based journalist and Honorary Director of The MediaWise Trust, a journalism ethics NGO)

Tag: OTT Platforms Regulation

‘A New Film Movement Is Shaping Up Over OTT Platforms’