ndia is the fourth largest film market on the planet. Besides Hollywood releases, the country’s Bollywood industry churns out film and TV shows at a prodigious rate, adding $2.4B annually to the Indian GDP. As readers of this blog are aware, India is one of 53 countries that have governmental film review or censorship boards. India’s regulator is known as the Central Board of Film Certification ( CBFC ). The CBFC reviews content intended for release for compliance and cultural appropriateness. If they find something they don’t like, they can mandate cuts, edits, change classification ratings and, in extreme instances, ban titles altogether. Up until April 4, 2021, content creators who did not agree with the CBFC rating or decisions could appeal to the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) for redress.
In a recent announcement , Sri Lanka’s Information Minister, Keheliya Rambukwella, shared that the country is drafting a new law to check the spread of fake news on social media platforms. “The spread of false information on the internet poses a serious threat and is seen as being used to divide society, to spread hatred and to weaken democratic institutions.”
India's government has established new rules for digital news organizations, social media intermediaries and OTT platforms under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, released by the Electronics & Information Technology Ministry and the Information & Broadcasting Ministry on Feb. 25 2021.
In a move to modernize the age-rating system for movies in Ontario, Canada, the provincial government recently proposed the 'Film Content Information Act 2020' as part of the Budget Bill that does away with General, Parental Guidance, 14 Accompaniment, 18 Accompaniment and Restricted age ratings. The new act would replace the Film Classification Act, 2005 .
The latest Media and Entertainment Outlook 2020 report by PwC states India is currently the world's fastest growing OTT market, and is positioned to become the world's sixth-largest by 2024. This means India is likely to overtake South Korea, Germany, and Australia in OTT revenue. Sizable investments by Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ Hotstar and other players in both originals and licensed content is expected to make up 93% of total OTT revenue.
Turkey enacted a new social media rule Oct. 1, 2020, and several social media platforms are not happy about it. The law “requires [companies] to establish a formal presence within the country” which will increase the companies’ “liability for harmful content.” Originally passed through parliament in July, the law also requires companies to appoint a Turkish representative to respond to content complaints and implement court orders.
