RTI filed over missing Waves OTT grievance reports

MediaNama has filed Right to Information applications with Prasar Bharati and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting over the absence of monthly grievance compliance reports for the government-owned Waves OTT platform. Under Rule 18(3) of the IT Rules, 2021, all OTT platforms must publish such reports. Major private platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Jio Hotstar already do so, but MediaNama says no public record exists for Waves.

The RTI asks Prasar Bharati for copies of any monthly grievance reports submitted for Waves, internal circulars on the IT Rules obligations, and correspondence related to non-compliance. The Ministry is asked for a list of all OTT platforms that are compliant and any records the Ministry maintains to track compliance. MediaNama argues that the absence of these reports violates both the IT Rules and the RTI Act's proactive disclosure requirements.

MediaNama has stated it will publish the responses when they are received. The IT Rules require all publishers of online curated content to publish these reports, and MediaNama contends that a government-owned platform must meet the highest standards of public accountability.