Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha on Friday urged the Centre to regulate “piracy” on OTT platforms, emphasising its increasing prevalence.
Raising the issue of alleged piracy of films and OTT content in the Rajya Sabha, the MP said that the government should introduce a bill or amend existing laws to regulate piracy on OTT platforms.
“As we all know, piracy is a pervasive issue, affecting not just the cinema industry but also the OTT platform world,” he said.
Chadha claimed that piracy and unauthorised reproduction of copyrighted content have resulted in an annual loss of Rs 20,000 crore to the film and OTT industry.
He pointed out that there has been a 62 per cent increase in piracy incidents during the pandemic alone.
The parliamentarian also sought a regulation on piracy through institutional mechanisms.
“I would like to ask the Minister (in charge) whether the Government of India plans to amend the Cinematograph Bill passed in this House last year, which largely deals with preventing illegal camera recordings in theatres, or if they intend to introduce a separate mechanism to address the widespread issue of piracy on OTT platforms,” Chadha said.
The MP further said, “Because of this unauthorised reproduction, years of hard work and effort by artists go down the drain. Through the House, I urge the Minister to establish an institutional mechanism to address this piracy.”
Meanwhile, Chadha in a post on X wrote, said, “Piracy is a significant plague that is all pervasive in the film industry and now in the OTT world as well.”