The Indian government has laid the blame on the doorstep of the industry for failing to come up with a suitable self regulatory mechanism for content on OTT platforms and not heeding government suggestions, if statement made in parliament by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar is to be believed.

Even as in a fresh move on Thursday the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) came out with a detailed self-regulatory kit toolkit for content governance for streaming platforms in India, Javadekar on Friday said in Lok Sabha (Lower House), “The (earlier) mechanism proposed by IAMAI did not give adequate cognizance to content prohibited under law and there were issues of conflict of interest, which were communicated to IAMAI in September, 2020.”

The hint was clear: the industry did not take government suggestions seriously.

The minister was replying to a series of questions from fellow parliamentarians on content aired over streaming platforms and whether the government proposes to bring in legislation to regulate the over-the-top platforms.

However, the minister or the MIB has not reacted to IAMAI’s latest toolkit, which was adopted by 17 streaming platforms. The details of the toolkit could be read in an IBW.com story at

Further in Lok Sabha, Javadekar said the Central government had issued a notification 9.11.2020 amending rules bringing the issue of content of news and current affairs and audio-visual content on online platforms under the mandate of MIB.