On December 17, Wednesday, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting stated that OTT content in India will not fall under the jurisdiction of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). It has been reaffirmed that the content in the digital space will be regulated separately under the existing Information Technology Rules.
It has been made clear that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), constituted under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, is tasked with certifying films for public exhibition. However, its jurisdiction does not cover content streamed on OTT platforms.
Such platforms are regulated under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. According to these rules, digital platforms are required to adhere to a Code of Ethics, which mandates that they do not host any content that is strictly prohibited by law. Additionally, Over-The-Top platforms must also follow prescribed age-based content classification norms.