Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC)

Context:

The ‘Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation’ (IBDF) announced the appointment of Justice (retired) Vikramjit Sen as the Chairman, along with six other eminent industry members for the newly formed ‘Digital Media Content Regulatory Council’ (DMCRC).

What is DMCRC?

• It is a self-regulatory body (SRB), according to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
• The industry-led SRB is called as Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC) for digital OTT platforms.

OTT, or over-the-top platforms, are audio and video hosting and streaming services.

• This is a second-tier mechanism at the appellate level and similar to Broadcast Content Complaint Council (BCCC).
• Composition: The council constitutes prominent personalities from the media and entertainment industry and ‘Online Curated Content Providers’ (OCCPs), with experience in IPR, programming, and content creation.

Significance

• Council’s mandate is to ensure freedom of expression of the Indian creative industry and to help the discerning audience of the OTT platforms to have unhindered access to world-class and differentiated content.
• DMCRC is expected to create a credible, robust, and practical code for content, with an inclusive and fair governance structure.

 Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF)

• The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) is the apex body of broadcasters and OTT operators.
• It was earlier known as the ‘Indian Broadcasting Foundation’ (IBF).
• To expand its purview to cover digital streaming platforms, it has been renamed the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF).