After Ranveer Allahbadia row, Centre asks OTT platforms to follow age-based content classification

In an advisory issued on February 19, the ministry asked social media channels and OTT platforms to follow the Code of Ethics prescribed in the IT Rules 2021 and implement “access control for A-rated content” to prevent children from consuming inappropriate material.

The notification stated it had received complaints about the “spread of obscene, pornographic, and vulgar content by certain publishers of OTT platforms and social media”. The government stressed that the law requires OTT platforms to “not transmit any content which is prohibited by law (and) undertake age-based classification of content”.

“Further, the Rules provide that self-regulatory bodies of OTT platforms shall oversee and ensure alignment and adherence by the OTT platforms to the Code of Ethics,” the notification said.

It also cited “the provisions of the Indecent Representation of Women Act, 1986, Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, wherein publication of obscene/pornographic content is a punishable offence”.

The communication followed sharp observations made by the Supreme Court when it heard a plea by Allahbadia to club the police cases filed against him. A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh came down heavily on Allahbadia for his comments made during India’s Got Latent and asked the centre if it was planning to take steps to regulate “obscene” content online.

The court also stated it would not “leave a vacuum” and that it would take action if needed. “Union of India is a party… We would like to do something. The Government of India will willingly do it; we will be very happy. Otherwise, we are not going to leave this vacuum. The way it is being misused by so-called YouTube channels… we have issued notice…” the court said.

After the court’s questions to the Centre, the parliamentary panel asked the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to submit a note on the efficacy of existing laws in dealing with such cases and suggest amendments needed to bring online platforms under legal scrutiny.

The Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, headed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, wrote to the ministry’s secretary S Krishnan over the issue.

“In light of the above and growing incidents of misuse of digital and social media platforms, the Ministry of Electronics and IT is requested to send a brief note to this committee on the efficacy of existing laws to deal with such cases and the need to amend the existing laws/IT Act, 2000, in order to bring such platforms under legal scrutiny,” the letter read.