CENSORSHIP AS AN INSTRUMENT TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC INTEREST: THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

This article deliberates the conceptual framework for censorship as a powerful instrument toprotect the public interest in relation to over-the-top (OTT) streaming media content inMalaysia. The transformation of technology has made the convergence of telecommunicationand broadcast networks seamless. Thus, the boundaries between the telecommunication andbroadcasting industries disappeared. This resulted in the viewers being able to watch the OTTstreaming media content on any type of devices. The success of OTT streaming mediaservices depends on audience’s gratification, which will subsequently lead to continuedsubscription to these services. However, there are uncensored content accessible from OTTstreaming media players’ library that may lessen the viewers’ satisfaction. Thus, based onthe combination of Users and Gratification Theory (UGT) and Public Interest Theory,Theory, the researcher developed a conceptual framework to study this phenomenon as aguide to paths of research and offer the underpinning for establishing its reliability