RTI seeks Waves OTT’s monthly grievance reports under India’s IT Rules
Medianama has filed RTIs with Prasar Bharati and the Information & Broadcasting Ministry seeking Waves OTT’s monthly grievance-compliance reports, which the outlet says are not publicly available on the platform’s website despite Rule 18(3) requirements.
What happened
Medianama filed RTIs with Prasar Bharati and the Information & Broadcasting Ministry seeking Waves OTT’s monthly grievance-compliance reports, which it says are
Key facts
- Rule 18(3)
- IT Rules, 2021
- RTI Act, 2005
Why this matters
Any partnership or transaction involving Waves OTT should include diligence on IT Rules compliance, grievance-reporting controls, and potential regulatory remediation obligations.
What to watch
- RTI response language identifying whether monthly reports were prepared, published, withheld, or unavailable.
- A new Waves website page containing monthly grievance reports, grievance statistics, or revised grievance-officer information.
- Evidence of zero-reporting, delayed reporting, missing months, or discrepancies between submitted and public-facing records.
- Transfer of the RTI between Prasar Bharati and the I&B Ministry, denial under an exemption, or a first appeal.
- Any broader ministry advisory or enforcement signal concerning Rule 18 transparency for OTT publishers and streaming intermediaries.
- Prasar Bharati is likely to compile grievance-receipt, disposal, and action-taken data for the RTI response and conduct a compliance review of Waves' website disclosures.
- Waves may create or update a public grievance-redressal page, including grievance officer details, monthly complaint counts, and disposition metrics.
- Medianama may publish the RTI replies, file first appeals if records are denied or incomplete, and compare Waves' disclosures with private OTT platforms.
- The I&B Ministry may issue internal clarification to Prasar Bharati on IT Rules reporting and record-retention expectations, even without public enforcement action.