Netflix and Amazon in India: The broadcast giants face new government rules governing what is acceptable entertainment

US video streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are eyeing the Indian market to boost their global growth. But their programs face the ire of Hindu nationalists, often linked to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party or the Bharatiya Janata Party, which wields increasing influence over acceptable entertainment. Now, the government has stepped in, raising concerns about a shrinking space for creative freedom, and in November, the government introduced broadcast platforms under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which have licensing and censorship powers over content in mediums such as film and television. In the year, the government announced rules that broadly regulate online news outlets and video content providers. Under the new rules, Publishers are required to appoint a local representative to act on each complaint within 15 days. These companies are also required to join an industry association led by a retired judge to ensure compliance. The third level of regulation rests with a government committee that has the power to censor, demand an apology, or order the deletion of content, and experts say web platforms may find it difficult to resist government regulations given what is at stake. India is the fastest growing market for video streaming platforms, judging by PricewaterhouseCoopers. It expects India’s growth in this category to reach more than 28% by 2024, double the projected global growth, and Netflix has invested $ 400 million in the past two years to produce or license content in India. In 2018, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said that the company’s 100 million upcoming users will come from India, and for Amazon too, India is a major market. During his visit to the country last year, founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said the company would “double” its investment in India, citing its growing popularity. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.) The new rules also include strict provisions for social media giants like Facebook and WhatsApp, requiring them to remove content deemed inappropriate in a short period of time and comply with court or government orders to identify the creators. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a wave of Hindu nationalism has exacerbated religious tensions, threatening India’s democratic status. This week, a report on global democracy downgraded the world’s largest democracy to an “electoral autocracy,” mainly due to a sharp decline in freedom of expression, the media, and civil society. It is often credited with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and similar platforms. The circumstance pushed sensitive topics such as female sexuality or social justice. “Delhi Crime,” a fictional novel about brutal gang rape on Netflix, won an Emmy Award for Best Dramatic Series in 2020 – a first for an Indian show. Besides “Tandav,” the makers of “Mirzapur,” a crime thriller set in a small town named after her in Uttar Pradesh and also showing on Amazon Prime video, are grappling with police complaints for “harming religious sentiments.” Earlier, a member of Parliament urged Mirzapur, an ally of the BJP, Modi to take action against the show for portraying the city as a den of violence. He traveled to Mumbai to investigate the case against Tandav and questioned the head of Amazon India’s India Originals Aparna Purohit. A lower court judge rejected her request to release her on bail prior to arrest, saying that “the sentiments of the majority community have been harmed” by the show. This month, Amazon Prime Video enters with a fresh apology for the controversial “Tandav” scenes. The statement said they respect the “diverse beliefs” of its viewers and “apologize unconditionally” to those who felt hurt. On Thursday, the National Agency for the Supervision of the Rights of the Child asked Netflix to stop broadcasting its just-released show “Bombay Begumes” due to what happened. The image was described as “not suitable” for children. Representatives of the two companies declined to answer questions about the impact of the new guidelines on their content and ongoing police cases. The Internet boom in India is being driven by the ease of availability of cheap internet data. Smartphone deployment and plans. There are more than 570 million internet users in India, with recent growth occurring among the rural population. “Every major platform is looking to India to give them the next stage of growth,” said Rajab Basu, head of media and entertainment at PwC. in India. “It’s an English-speaking market and the largest after China, and it’s not free.” The new rules created “panic,” said Karan Anchuman, one of the authors and directors of the “Mirzabur” program, which has targeted police complaints. : “It’s too early to say how it will go.” But, “We really doubt ourselves about whether there is something very political.”