Delhi, December 17: Over the top (OTT) content will reman outside the jurisdiction of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The OTT content is regulated under the provisions of Part III of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

This information was disclosed by the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr. L. Murugan in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday in response of questions asked by Dr. M K Vishnu Prasad.

“The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory authority established under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 for examining and certifying cinematographic films for public exhibition. OTT content is regulated under the provisions of Part III of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021,” the Union Minister informed the House.

The Code of Ethics requires OTT platforms to avoid publishing content prohibited by law and undertake age-based classification of content as per the guidelines in the Rules, the Union Minister informed.

These Rules also outline a three-tier institutional mechanism - self-regulation by the publishers, self-regulation by the self-regulating bodies of the publishers and oversight mechanism by the Central Government - for ensuring adherence to content-related norms and for addressing public grievances, the Union Minister disclosed.

The grievances related to OTT content are duly forwarded to the concerned OTT platforms for appropriate action under the Level-I of the redressal mechanism - self-regulation by the publishers, provided under the IT Rules, 2021, the Minister further submitted.