Experts fear that the new rules could "break end-to-end encryption", offered by several social media platforms.

As well as covid-19, India’s film industry faces a plague of meddling.

Made-in-India microblogging platform Koo said the new guidelines will help clarify the responsibilities of intermediaries.

The federal lawsuit alleged that TikTok broke the Illinois biometric privacy law, which allows suits against companies that harvest consumer data without consent.

Trade experts say such films made on shoe-string budgets featuring less popular actors would not have got prominent show timings earlier.

“Lionsgate Play continues to gain momentum in India, proving to be a strong driver of Starz’s international growth,” said Jeffrey Hirsch, President and CEO, Starz.

While a 'self-regulatory body' under the Centre’s oversight will oversee compliance with a 'Code of Ethics' that could be open to interpretation, so long as it does not exceed its brief and misuse its authority to play censor, this should not be a worry. Its role will be under watch, too.

Amit Shah's comments came hours after the government announced sweeping regulations for social media firms like Facebook and Twitter as well as OTT platforms such as Netflix, requiring them to remove any content flagged by authorities within 36 hours and set up a complaint redressal mechanism with an officer based in the country.

Reasonable regulation is democratic, but the moral panic around big tech is muddying the waters.