Incompetence of Self-Regulatory Laws for the Regulation of OTT Platforms in India

The digital age in India is characterised, among others, by the emergence of OTT platforms as one of the most significant cultural and technological development. The introduction of such over-the-top (OTT) applications, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, among others, has remarkably influenced content consumption pattern of people in India. Such rapid expansion, however, has raised concerns regarding the efficacy of self-regulation and restriction of content. In the absence of an adequately defined legal framework, India has had to rely on the self-regulatory codes formulated by the OTT platforms to supervise and control content available. This article evaluates the advantages and shortcomings of self-regulation in India with a specific emphasis on over-the-top (OTT) platforms by analyzing the legal order and the implementation of the order with respect to the protection and restriction of freedom of expression and the regulation of the content.