I&B minister calls for stricter laws to curb obscene content on social media

Information & Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday called for stricter laws to curb vulgar content on social media, saying absence of editorial oversight has led to "uncontrolled expression" on such platforms.

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Replying to supplementaries in the Question Hour in Lok Sabha, he said there was a vast difference in the cultural sensitivities in India and the countries where these social media platforms were created. "The cultural sensitivities of India vastly differ from those of the regions where these platforms were created. This makes it imperative for India to make existing laws stricter and he urged everyone to come to a consensus on this matter," the minister said in response to a question raised by BJP member Arun Govil.

Vaishnaw said the Parliamentary Standing Committee should take up the issue and also called for a consensus to frame stricter laws in this regard. He said earlier there were editorial checks on publishing content, but the same has diminished since the advent of social media and OTT platforms. "We are living in the era of social media and OTT platforms. However, the democratic institutions and traditional forms of the press that once relied on editorial checks to ensure accountability and correctness of content, have seen these checks diminish over time," Vaishnaw said.

He said due to the absence of editorial oversight, social media has become a platform for freedom of press, but at the same time it has also become a space for uncontrolled expression, which often includes vulgar content. Vaishnaw said the Government has notified Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021) that provide for a Code of Ethics for publishers of online curated content (OTT platforms).

The rules require the publishers not to transmit any content which is prohibited by law for the time being in force and to undertake age based classification of content into five categories, based on general guidelines provided in the Schedule to the Rules, he said. The Code also provides that the OTT Platform will put in place adequate safeguard for restricting age inappropriate content for children.

The minister said in March, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has taken action and blocked 18 OTT platforms for publishing obscene and vulgar content. "So far as the content on intermediary platforms like YouTube, Facebook, etc. is concerned, IT Rules, 2021 cast obligation on such platforms to make reasonable efforts by itself and to cause the user of their computer resource to not host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, etc. knowingly and intentionally any information which is obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, invasive of another's privacy, including bodily privacy, insulting or harassing on the basis of gender, racially or ethnically objectionable, or that is harmful to child," Vaishnaw said.

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