Data & Adtech in Streaming: The DPDP Framework and OTT Compliance  

Posted On - 6 October, 2025 • By - Rahul Mehta

India’s digital entertainment economy is now data-first, adtech-driven, and globally integrated. Subscription growth has plateaued, and platforms increasingly depend on personalisation, targeted advertising, and behavioural analytics to sustain revenues. At the same time, the legal environment around data has become far more demanding.

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act); India’s first horizontal privacy law has been enacted, and the Draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 were released for consultation earlier this year. While full enforcement is still pending, the framework already reshapes how streaming and OTT platforms must collect, process, and monetise user data.

The Act Exists, But Enforcement Is Deferred: The DPDP Act has Presidential assent but is not yet fully notified. Key obligations are dormant until the Rules are finalised.

  • Draft Rules, 2025 Released: Published in January 2025, they lay down operational details like notice formats, breach reporting, children’s data, cross-border transfers, and “Significant Data Fiduciary” obligations.
  • Transitional Period: Platforms today face a paradox—not legally bound, but expected by regulators, investors, and courts to start aligning with DPDP standards.
  • Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting continues to exercise control through the IT Rules, 2021, and has even blocked 25 OTT platforms this year for obscene/vulgar content. Alongside, a draft Broadcasting Bill proposes registration for OTT platforms, signaling greater oversight beyond privacy law.

Core Compliance Obligations

Even in draft form, the DPDP Rules point clearly to where OTT platforms must adapt:

  • Consent must be free, specific, and informed. Blanket “accept all” clicks will not suffice.
  • Notices must spell out data categories (device IDs, watch history, geo-location) and purposes (personalisation, targeted advertising, fraud detection).
  • Withdrawal must be as easy as consent – one click out, not endless menus.

(b) Purpose Limitation & Retention

  • Data cannot be repurposed without renewed consent. A user’s email taken for login cannot be used for ad campaigns by default.
  • Draft Rules require erasure after use ends, with strict timelines and 48-hour notices before deletion.

(c) Cross-Border Data Flows

  • Transfers will only be allowed to government-notified jurisdictions. OTT platforms using global cloud vendors must plan for data localisation or rerouting.

(d) Children’s Data

  • Parental consent must be verifiable.
  • Platforms cannot profile or serve targeted ads to children.
  • OTTs in edutainment or kids’ segments must implement age-gating and parental dashboards.

(e) Significant Data Fiduciaries (SDFs)

Large platforms (high user base, sensitive data, systemic influence) will be classified as SDFs and must:

  • Appoint a Data Protection Officer in India.
  • Conduct regular audits and Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs).
  • Publish transparency reports.

Adtech-Specific Risks

OTT business models are entangled with third-party ad networks, DSPs, SSPs, and analytics vendors. Under DPDP:

  • Contractual Risk: If adtech partners misuse data, liability flows back to the OTT as fiduciary. Contracts must have warranties, indemnities, and audit rights.
  • Bundled Consent: Current “all-in-one” consent flows will be non-compliant. Ads, recommendations, and analytics each require separate toggles.
  • Legacy Data: Using pre-2023 viewer data for AI training or retargeting without renewed consent will be challengeable.
  • Cross-Border Ad Delivery: If adtech pipelines involve data transfers to non-notified countries, campaigns may become unlawful overnight.

Enforcement Landscape

Once notified, penalties will be severe:

  • Up to ₹250 crore for breaches involving children’s data or cross-border transfers.
  • Up to ₹200 crore for unauthorised disclosures.
  • Other failures (notice, consent, grievance handling) will also attract material fines.

Enforcement by the Data Protection Board of India is expected to begin with a “capacity-building” phase, but early headline penalties are likely to establish deterrence. OTT platforms with high visibility or past controversies may be chosen as test cases.

Courts too are active. Already, injunctions against OTTs for misuse of celebrity rights, deepfakes, and piracy demonstrate judicial willingness to expand liability. It is likely that data privacy breaches will soon be tested in consumer courts and under unfair trade practice claims.

Practical Compliance Roadmap

Streaming platforms should treat 2025 as a preparatory window. Steps include:

1. Audit Data Flows: Map every collection point i.e. login, playback, ads, recommendations and categorise by purpose.

2. Rebuild Consent UIs: Replace blanket consents with granular, revocable toggles; align UX with notice obligations.

3. Contract Overhaul: Insert DPDP clauses into all vendor and advertiser contracts: breach reporting, indemnities, audit rights.

4. Plan for Localisation: Build capability to store Indian user data domestically and restrict exports to whitelisted countries.

5. Children’s Data Controls: Deploy verifiable parental consent systems and block profiling for minors.

6. Incident Response: Draft breach-response playbooks and align with the 72-hour draft standard for reporting.

7. DPO Appointment: Large platforms should identify a senior India-based executive for the DPO role now, not later.

Investor and Business Implications

For investors, DPDP compliance is becoming a valuation driver. Due diligence on OTT and adtech deals must now review:

  • Consent mechanisms and user flows;
  • Vendor contracts and cross-border architectures;
  • Exposure to children’s data or sensitive categories.

Failure to prepare could lead to sudden valuation haircuts, business disruption, or forced restructuring once the law is notified. Conversely, early compliance can build user trust and competitive advantage in a market where privacy awareness is rising.

The Road Ahead

The final DPDP Rules are expected to be notified in early 2026. In parallel, the proposed Broadcasting Bill and the IT Rules will expand government oversight of OTT content itself. This means platforms face a two-front compliance challenge:

  • Content Regulation (censorship, classification, takedowns);
  • Data Regulation (consent, adtech, transfers, retention).

The convergence of these areas requires holistic governance frameworks, not siloed legal fixes.

Conclusion

The DPDP Act is not yet enforceable but for OTT and streaming platforms, the direction is clear. Consent-led, transparent, and privacy-by-design data governance will soon be the legal baseline. Platforms that wait for formal enforcement risk being caught unprepared; those that move early will build resilience, avoid penalties, and position themselves as privacy-first leaders in India’s digital economy.