The road to censorship: the case of digital audiovisual industries in India

This article examines the influence of the Indian government on digital content creation, amidst growing concerns about freedom of expression due to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 (IT Rules). Introduced by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), these regulations have sparked debate over their impact on India’s vibrant digital audiovisual industry, which has been a bastion of diverse storytelling and production capabilities. The situation is complicated by threats from extremist groups affiliated with the BJP, and right-wing groups against platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, raising suspicions that these legislative measures serve ideological and political agendas under the guise of ‘digital welfare’. Through a mixed-method approach comprising qualitative content analysis of the IT Rules, discourse analysis of governmental communications, and interviews with practitioners and policy experts, the study explores the triangulated power dynamics between the state, global platforms, and content creators. It reveals how state intervention, presented as a nation-building effort, effectively legitimises digital and mob censorship, encourages self-censorship among creators due to policy ambiguity, and aligns digital content creation closely with the state’s ideological objectives.