Will govt use India's Got Latent row as pretext to tighten content control?
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The government's recent advisory to social media and streaming platforms to strictly monitor and remove all content deemed obscene or vulgar, following a massive outrage over distasteful jokes on YouTube show India’s Got Latent featuring podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia and comic Samay Raina, has sparked concerns about sweeping content regulations that could follow, potentially curbing freedom of expression.
Some entertainment industry executives feel the government's advisory could be a precursor to a revival of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, whose scope extended beyond OTT content and digital news to include individual social media accounts and online video creators, and imposed criminal liability for violations. Others say it could take some other form of regulation.
Content creators and producers are battling new worries of online content losing its distinct edge, with freedom of expression being curbed as a whole, as far as entertainment programming goes. “There is a definite fear and worry.
While traditional broadcasters and streaming platforms had long wanted user-generated content to be reined in given that it was competing for user eyeballs, this could lead to a crisis for everyone who could in time be forced to create only 'All India Radio' kind of content," said a senior executive at a media and entertainment company, declining to be named. This person added that theatrical films had already suffered due to the Central Board of Film Certification that anyway doesn’t protect movies or makers from public angst, trolling and controversies.
Read on livemint.com