Streaming platforms, digital news to be monitored by I&B Ministry

The government has brought digital content including news, web shows, and streaming platforms under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) in a move to monitor the digital medium closely.

The government has issued a gazette notification for the same, with the President of India approving the order.

Experts say the next step could be the framing of content guidelines for the digital medium, though the government gave no indication of the same. So far, over-the-top (OTT) content was regulated by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY). The entry of MIB will mean that both television and digital content will now be monitored by the former.