Central government in action after Ranveer Allahbadia case, gave this warning to OTT platforms
Warning to OTT platforms: The Center has warned OTT platforms against broadcasting content banned by law. In the advice issued to OTT platforms and self-regulatory bodies, they have been asked to follow the code of conduct prescribed under the IT Rules-2021. Along with this, strict adherence to age verification is also included before sharing the content.
As soon as the controversy of indecent comments of Ranveer Allahbadia and Samay Raina took fire, the central government turned to action mode. The Center is taking stern action with the controversy of obscenity and indecent jokes trending on social media.
Showing strictness, the Center warned the Over-the-top (OTT) platforms to avoid telecasting the banned content by law. In the advisory to Over-the-top (OTT) platforms and the self-regulating body, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting asked them to strictly implement the code of conduct established by the IT Rules-2021 while posting the content. Besides this, rigorous age verification is also a requirement before posting the content.
The government has also asked the self-regulatory bodies of OTT platforms to take appropriate proactive action for violations of the code of conduct by the platform. The ministry said that it has received complaints from Members of Parliament, statutory organizations, and public complaints regarding the alleged dissemination of obscene, pornographic, and obscene content published by some publishers of OTT platforms and social media.
The Center said in its notice, "OTT platforms should follow the various provisions of applicable laws and the code of conduct prescribed under the IT Rules 2021 while publishing content, including strict adherence to the age-based classification of content prescribed under the Code of Conduct."
It states that if there is something in the content that is not right for children, it should be tagged 'A' rated content to restrict access to such content. At the same time, it is necessary to implement this system and take appropriate precautions.
This consultation of the Center has also come in the wake of the Supreme Court suggesting control over content on social media platforms. The apex court spoke about the open streaming of pornographic content on platforms like YouTube and said that there appears to be no bar to the law in this regard.
