IAMAI flags concerns on new norms for anti-tobacco warning on OTT platforms

The Union health ministry’s latest move mandating anti-tobacco warnings for OTT platforms did not involve any consultative process with the industry prior to notification, IAMAI has said flagging “fundamental concerns” and “practical difficulties” in implementation of the new norms.

The industry body has highlighted the practical impossibility associated with including such warnings across content. The amount of content being commissioned in India and licensed from within India and around the world is very high, IAMAI said, adding, “to create and incorporate multiple health spots, audio-visual disclaimers and warnings in multiple languages for the same piece of content poses significant logistical issues”.