India is deliberating potential censorship on streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, a senior government source said.
While film and TV certification bodies already moderate public content in India, the nation’s laws do not allow for censorship of content on the increasingly popular online streaming platforms.
The government’s concern has been sparked by several court cases and complaints filed alleging that some content was obscene or insulted religious sentiment, said the government official, who has direct knowledge of the deliberations.
Though concerns around possible censorship had prompted Netflix Inc and Indian rival Hotstar to sign a self-regulation code in January, Amazon.com Inc did not sign up, saying “the current laws are adequate.”
“The self-regulation isn’t the same for all, which is raising a concern ... the directions are clear, we have to see how to address the problems,” the government official said.
Netflix’s first Indian original series, Sacred Games, faced a court challenge last year over “offensive scenes” and derogatory remarks about a former Indian prime minister, but the case was later dismissed.
There was also a police complaint filed last month by an Indian lawmaker who accused some Netflix shows of “defaming Hindus.”
It was unclear whether the complaint would go further and a Mumbai police spokesman on Thursday had no immediate comment.
All of which has heightened concerns within the Indian government, and prompted talks between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in an effort to come up with an acceptable regulatory framework for such content providers.
Though it is possible the government would decide against any regulation, several other options are being explored, the government official said.
They include a self-regulation code without government interference, a government-monitored code or measures requiring platforms to obtain content approval in advance.
Neither ministry responded to requests for comment.
The government official said that there was also concern about disparity in how some content appeared on different mediums.
Smoking scenes in Bollywood movies on Amazon and Netflix in India, for example, do not carry the mandatory anti-tobacco textual warnings.
“With regulation, all of the [global] content will need to be sanitized for India — a huge, expensive and time-consuming exercise,” New Delhi-based technology policy analyst Prasanto Roy said.
Netflix and Amazon are also producing more original local content to win viewers in India, where increased use of mobile data and smartphones is supporting demand for their services.
Netflix, which last year said India could deliver its next 100 million subscribers, has rolled out a monthly mobile-only plan in India for 199 rupees (US$2.80), less than half the price of its cheapest standard plan at 499 rupees.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI
Qualcomm Inc, the world’s biggest seller of smartphone processors, gave an upbeat forecast for sales and profit in the current period, suggesting demand for handsets is increasing after a two-year slump. Revenue in the three months ended in June will be US$8.8 billion to US$9.6 billion, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Excluding certain items, earnings will be US$2.15 to US$2.35 a share. Analysts had projected sales of US$9.08 billion and earnings of US$2.16 a share. The outlook signals that the smartphone market has begun to bounce back, tracking with Qualcomm’s forecast that demand would gradually recover this year. The San