Content On Amazon And Netflix Might Be Censored In India

Reuters, citing a source in the Indian government, said that India might put censorship on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and other streaming platforms. While public content has already been moderated in the country, those of online streaming platforms have not yet been put under any law on censorship.

As stated by people who have deep knowledge of the matter, the concerns over these sites were raised after some complaints were filed to the police that these platforms have content insulting religious sentiment.

While these concerns have caused Hotstar and Netflix to agree on a self-regulation code earlier this year, Amazon did not sign and said that it was following the current laws. However, the government thinks the fact that the self-regulation codes are different among companies is heightening concerns they are working on a solution for the issue.

Last year, "Sacred Games," an original series of India, was under lots of trouble over offensive content about a former prime minister of India.

All of these concerns suggest talks between the IT and India's Information & Broadcasting ministries to come up with a proper framework for these online streaming platforms.

It is possible that the government will dismiss the idea of censorship, but for now, it is considering various options, as stated by Reuters’s source. What the authorities are thinking about includes government-monitored code, content approval, and a self-regulation code. If laws on this matter are passed, all oft he international content on these platforms will have to be sanitized to be broadcast in the country, which proves to be a time-consuming and expensive practice.

Amazon and Netflix are speeding up in producing India-related content to appeal to more viewers in the country where the growth of smartphone use is creating an ideal market for their service.