TRAI Chief Opposes Separate Regulations for OTT and Traditional Broadcasting

TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti has highlighted the need for stronger rules to manage online content.

Speaking at the WAVES Summit in Mumbai, he said there should be a common set of regulations for both traditional and digital media. He pointed out that while TV and cable follow strict laws, digital platforms mostly rely on self-regulation, which creates an unfair advantage.

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“There is a clear difference between the manner in which the linear content and digital content are regulated. While self-regulation applies to digital content, the linear content is regulated by the Cable Television Regulation Act. There is no reason why one media should be regulated with one set of rules, while others should have self-regulation. There is (a) need to align content regulation. It should be media agnostic,” Lahoti reportedly said. 

Lahoti added that TRAI does not support a system where one type of media is treated differently from another.

This comes shortly after the central government told the Supreme Court that it's working on new guidelines to control obscene content on streaming platforms and social media, without imposing full censorship.

The Supreme Court is reviewing a public interest petition filed by journalist Uday Mahurkar, who raised concerns about inappropriate content on OTT platforms. 

The court took the matter seriously and issued notices to the government and platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, ALTBalaji, Ullu, Mubi, X, google, Meta and Apple.

These discussions follow a recent controversy around YouTuber Samay Raina’s show India’s Got Latent. After the backlash, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting reminded platforms to follow the IT Rules, 2021, including using age-based content labels and tools to stop kids from seeing adult content.

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