The Centre has proposed stricter norms for display of health warnings related to tobacco consumption on content streaming platforms.
As per the draft norms the Health Ministry is proposing to make it mandatory for OTT players to display “non-skippable” anti-tobacco health spots of at least 30 seconds and audio-visual disclaimer on ill-effects of tobacco use for 20 seconds for OTT platforms.
The draft norms also propose display of anti-tobacco health warnings as prominent static messages at the bottom of the screen during the scenes that show use of a tobacco products in all content, whether Indian or foreign origin.
It proposes to implement these regulations for all films and content whether Indian or foreign origin produced on or after September 1, 2023. The Ministry intends to give time for six months after the final regulation is notified. It has sought stakeholder comments for the same.
30-second spot
The draft proposes that all Indian and international origin films streamed on OTT platforms will need to display anti-tobacco health spots of thirty seconds each at the beginning and middle of the film.
It has also proposed display of anti-tobacco health warning as a prominent static message at the bottom of the screen during the period of display of the tobacco products or their use in the film besides an audio-visual disclaimer on the ill-effects of tobacco use, for twenty seconds at the beginning of the film.
“All content published in online curated content platforms, shall display non-skippable anti-tobacco health spots, of minimum thirty seconds duration and non-skippable audio-visual disclaimer on the ill-effects of tobacco use, of minimum twenty seconds upon opening the platforms of the Publishers of the online curated contents,” the draft added.
The Ministry had earlier released rules for anti-tobacco warnings on OTT platforms in May last year which were implemented by September 1,2023. However, this time the government seems to be looking to implement stricter regulations in this regard.
Industry players have expressed concerns about the practicality of implementing some of the proposed norms. “ It is not that the OTT industry does not want to implement these regulations but it needs to be done in an impactful manner to sensitise the consumers about this issue.. It is important to understand that there is no “middle” in OTT content unlike traditional medium,” a senior industry executive said. Concerns have also been raised about all films and content being subjected to the norms even if they are do not have any scenes that show use of tobacco products.