IMPACT OF IT RULES, 2001 VIS-À-VIS OTT PLATFORMS-AN ANALYTICAL STUDY

When the whole entertainment industry got majorly restricted during pandemic, the OTT Platforms came as a blessing in disguise for people locked in their homes. The OTT sector saw an unprecedented growth of 28.6% in India during 2020 highlighting its huge potential. However, some concerns were also raised regarding the nature of content. It led to demands from different quarters for regulating the platforms. Hence, the Government of India brought IT Rules 2021 with one of the aims being regulating the content on OTT platforms. There have been mixed reviews from experts about these rules flagging concerns like Freedom of Speech and Expression of the creators, Right to Privacy of users, Censorship etc. The paper underlines the interaction between OTT platforms in India and governmental response to it.