By Jyothi Swaroop Makena
13th July, 2023
The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules of 2021 (IT Rules, 2021) regulate the OTT services that deliver curated content in India.
The Code highlights the government’s intention to ensure that users of OTT content services can make informed decisions about the content they watch, rather than following an overly prescriptive approach.
OTT services are required to classify content into various categories based on the nature and type of content (e.g. U, U/A 7, U/A 13+ etc.) This helps users understand the age-appropriateness of the content they are about to watch.
The Code also requires OTT content services to provide content descriptors such as violence, nudity, sex, language, and substance and drug abuse, among others.
The Code also addresses aspects relating to tobacco depiction. It states that films or serials that portray smoking or tobacco consumption must have a higher degree of age-classification, though it refrains from prohibiting depictions of tobacco-use or prescribing how it should be depicted.