Parliament Panel Pushes OTT Content Review

The Parliamentary Standing Committee said the proposed comprehensive statutory framework for regulating OTT content should include robust technology-enabled age-verification mechanisms, effective parental controls and suitable penalties for non-compliance.

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A Parliamentary Standing Committee has recommended that the Union ministry of home affairs develop a standardised multilingual system to redress grievances across intermediaries defined under the Information Technology Rules, 2021.

It has also asked the government to study the feasibility of establishing an independent 'post-release review panel' for content on over-the-top (OTT) platforms.

Key Points

Parliament panel seeks a multilingual grievance system with complaint tracking, timelines, reasoned disposal and automatic escalation.
It recommends studying an independent post-release review panel for flagged OTT content involving expert representation.
The panel wants stronger verification of offshore digital advertisers to prevent fraudulent and deceptive advertisements targeting users.
It seeks a durable mechanism enabling CBI investigations into inter-state and transnational cybercrime cases without procedural hurdles.
The committee has called for unified cybercrime legislation and a specialised nationwide task force for complex cases.

Standardised Grievance System

In its reports tabled in Parliament, the committee on home affairs, headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party's Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, presented its observations on the action taken by the government on its recommendations relating to the ramifications, protection and prevention of cybercrime.

On the grievance-redress obligations of intermediaries under Rules 3(2) and 3A of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the committee said the home ministry should develop a standardised, accessible and multilingual grievance-redress system across intermediaries.

It said such a system should have unique complaint numbers, tracking facilities, defined timelines, reasoned disposal and automatic escalation of unresolved complaints.

Such a system should also have an effective monitoring framework, it said.

OTT Content Under Review

On the regulation of content, the committee said the existing framework continued to rely on self-regulation by the OTT platforms.

It reiterated its recommendation that the government should examine the feasibility of establishing an independent 'post-release review panel' comprising experts from the fields of child development, education, law, social sciences and civil society to review flagged content and recommend appropriate corrective measures.

The panel said the proposed comprehensive statutory framework for regulating OTT content should include robust technology-enabled age-verification mechanisms, effective parental controls and suitable penalties for non-compliance.

Stricter Ad Verification

On the mechanism for regulating online advertisements, which is being formulated, the committee recommended that the ministry should incorporate robust verification needs for offshore advertisers, including digital-document verification, live identity authentication and continuous monitoring based on zero-trust principles, to prevent fraudulent and deceptive advertisements targeting users.

CBI Cybercrime Investigations

The panel said the withdrawal of general consent by certain states for investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation continued to impede seamless and time-bound probes into inter-state and transnational cybercrime.

It asked the home ministry to engage with states to evolve a durable mechanism for facilitating CBI investigations into cybercrime cases and suitably amend the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, to enable the agency to effectively investigate cases.

The committee recommended the integration of cybercrime prevention and cyber-hygiene education into school curricula.

It also asked the home ministry, other ministries and relevant regulators to establish a mechanism to periodically review and update the cybercrime legal framework.

Unified Cybercrime Law

<pclass="rbig">It flagged the need for comprehensive and unified cybercrime legislation with clear definitions, technology-neutral provisions and effective penalties for emerging offences.

It also recommended setting up a specialised Integrated Cybercrime Task Force with nationwide jurisdiction, technical expertise and inter-agency coordination to investigate complex and transnational cybercrime.