OTT Accessibility Norms To Be Finalised In 3 Months: Centre To HC

With an eye on making streaming services more inclusive for visually and hearing-impaired users, the Centre today reportedly informed the Delhi High Court (HC) that accessibility guidelines for OTT platforms would be finalised in the next three months.

As per news agency PTI, the government submitted an undertaking that the information ministry (MIB) has already issued draft guidelines on the matter for feedback from stakeholders and the general public. The HC is said to have taken the document on record.

“… It is further assured and undertaken that the final guidelines shall be issued within three months. No further directions are required to be passed in the present petition,” Justice Sachin Datta reportedly noted.

After hearing both sides, the single-judge bench of the HC finally disposed of the plea.

The HC was hearing a plea filed by visually-impaired persons, alleging lack of accessibility features for the specially-abled in recently released Bollywood movies on OTT platforms.

During the hearing, petitioners’ counsel Rahul Bajaj reportedly argued that there were certain infirmities in the draft guidelines. The advocate contended that the ministry had consulted with industry stakeholders, but not the persons with disabilities.

On this, Justice Datta reportedly reiterated the assurance by MIB’s counsel that the feedback of the petitioner will be considered before formulation of final guidelines.

“In case the petitioner has any grievance with respect to the formulation of guidelines, he shall be at liberty to take legal recourse,” the judge reportedly added.

This follows Justice Datta, during the last hearing, directing the broadcasting ministry to formulate guidelines in the matter in accordance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.

That said, the ministry has already issued draft guidelines on OTT content for specially-abled persons, which is open for public comments till October 22. The proposed norms put the onus on streaming platforms to “strive” to offer audio descriptions of their audio-visual content.

The draft norms also mandate that OTT sites ought to carry at least one accessibility feature for all new content within six months. However, these guidelines do not extend to live or deferred live events, audio content, and short form content such as ads.

This follows the Delhi HC also pulling up ride-hailing giant Rapido earlier this year for failing to ensure adequate accessibility of its app for specially-abled persons. In March, the Court even warned the company to improve the accessibility of its platform within four months or else “pack up from India”.

Besides, in October last year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also directed fintech platforms and banks to make their point of sale (PoS) devices and other payment solutions accessible to persons with disabilities.

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