Regulatory Guidelines in Content Industry under the Changing Over-the-Top Streaming Technology

Abstract

This article studies the media landscape in the changing content industry resulting from OTT and streaming technologies in order to propose guidelines for regulating and promoting content. The roles of related regulating bodies in Thailand are also studied in order to prepare for future regulation and promotion of content industry. By analyzing relevant documents both in Thai and English languages, the study found that platforms played an important role in setting the content’s format. Content creators were set to alter their direction and content to be in line with those that would yield highest benefit to the platform. At the same time, guidelines for regulating and promoting content in foreign countries had been modified by categorizing the OTT content. Legal loopholes in content regulating were also found--the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) could not regulate content creators in different platforms. In the future both regulation and promotion could be made, in particular on streaming platforms. However, video sharing platform would not be regulated at the initial stage. This would be an appropriate guideline for Thailand’s regulating bodies as there had never been any regulating guidelines before.