Exclusive: "China's Netflix" iQiyi operates in India without complying with IT Rules

Even as platforms and games like Bytedance’s TikTok and Krafton’s Battlegrounds Mobile India, along with hundreds of other apps with links to China — whether real or imagined — are getting banned in India in batches, iQiyi, a massively popular Chinese streaming service, remains available in India with local pricing, Entrackr has found.

It is unclear when iQiyi launched in India, but the service, billed as “China’s Netflix,” is being offered with regional pricing in India, provided through the firm’s Singapore subsidiary.

iQiyi is a major player; it is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and has a market cap of $3.1 billion, according to data by Morningstar. It is unclear just how many subscribers the service has in India, but the company doesn’t appear to have done much country-specific marketing here, in spite of being available with regional pricing. Monthly prices for the service in India start at Rs 449. The Mainland China version of iQiyi is also available in India, but only accepts Chinese payment methods.

Crucially, the service has cut corners on another key aspect: complying with Indian law. iQiyi does not appear to be compliant with the Information Technology (Intermediary Liability and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which lays down regulations for streaming services serving users in India. 

The service does not have age ratings mandated by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, does not offer an India-specific complaints mechanism with a grievance officer appointed for the country, and does not appear to be a part of the three-tier self-regulatory structure that is mandated for Indian streaming services.

An iQiyi spokesperson did not respond to queries from Entrackr, including on whether the firm is paying GST for subscriptions it sells in India, or if it has an Indian subsidiary.

Most of the content on iQiyi is Mandarin-language TV series. The platform is large and powerful enough that even though Netflix is not available in China, it has often licensed its content to iQiyi. The Chinese firm has also dipped its toes in the Korean drama market, co-producing My Roommate is a Gumiho, a series that had over 900,000 viewers each episode in South Korea alone.

Asian dramas, particularly Korean dramas, are gaining in popularity in India. In the first week of August, three of the top non-English series on Netflix in India were Korean dramas, with Extraordinary Attorney Woo, an ongoing series, taking the top spot.

Even Viki, a small K-drama focused streaming service owned by the Japanese e-commerce conglomerate Rakuten, complies with the IT Rules.

The IT Rules themselves are questionable, as they have worrying consequences for freedom of expression in India. But the Indian government’s tenacity in going after Korean game publisher Krafton due to whispers of Chinese involvement while an actually Chinese NYSE-listed streaming giant operates right under its nose while ignoring Indian law is notable.