Regulatory body tells OTT platform ULLU to take down content

The order was pertaining to a complaint on the obscene nature of the content being streamed on ULLU. The complainant, Satish Waghela, had stated that some of the web series only had obscenity and nudity, which is contrary to the law of the land as well as the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

The complainant had initially raised the matter with the platform but was dissatisfied with the action taken, as per the DPCGC order. In its response, the ULLU denied all allegations and insisted that the viewership is based on discretion, and also cited “freedom of speech and expression” as enshrined in the Constitution.

The council, while reprimanding the platform, gave a strong advisory to take off these web series altogether or make suitable edits to the offending scenes to ensure they are in compliance with the IT Rules. When contacted by The Indian Express, officials from ULLU said they were reviewing the order internally but won’t be able to comment any further.

The government had recently remarked that OTT platforms have the responsibility of ensuring that “they do not propagate vulgarity and abuse camouflaged as the creative expression”. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur had said that they are taking a serious view on the complaints of increasing abusive and obscene content on OTT platforms. His remarks had come in the wake of the Delhi High Court’s scathing remarks on a web series called ‘College Romance’. The court said that the content’s sexually explicit language could influence impressionable minds because it was widely available. It had urged the government to take steps to check the language on such platforms.