Stringent Laws Needed To Curb 'Vulgar' Content On OTT, Social Media: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Stronger legislation is needed to address obscenity on social media, said Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

He said that the absence of editorial checks, which traditional media platforms once provided, making it necessary to tighten laws governing social media platforms.

The minister urged the parliamentary standing committee on communications and information technology to tackle the issue of inappropriate content online, reported the Hindustan Times.

"This is a very important issue that has been raised. In this age of social media, many older democratic institutions and the press, which previously had editorial checks to confirm whether content published was correct or incorrect... decisions were made by the media. Such editorial checks no longer exist. Because these checks are absent, social media, which is both a powerful tool for freedom of the press, also carries uncontrolled expressions, including various types of vulgar content. That is why the current laws must be strengthened, and I would request a consensus on this," Vaishnaw stated.

Vaishnaw was responding to BJP MP Arun Govil's question about whether a mechanism was in place to control the "telecast of vulgar and sex-related content" through social media platforms illegally.

Govil, known for playing Ram in Ramanand Sagar's 'Ramayana', also asked whether the government was considering new laws to regulate foreign social media platforms in terms of such content, as "it wounds our culture and social fabric" and "cannot be viewed with our families."

Vaishnaw responded, "The culture of the countries, the geographies from where these social media platforms originate, is very different from ours. This debate is happening in almost every country, which is why I urge our parliament's standing committee to take up this issue and reach a consensus within society on it. Stronger laws should be brought in."

The parliamentary committee on communications and IT, headed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, has chosen "the emergence of OTT platforms and related issues" and "the regulation of social and digital platforms" as topics for the 2024-25 term.

In a written reply to Govil, Vaishnaw added that under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, streaming platforms are prohibited from broadcasting illegal content and must classify content according to age appropriateness, incorporating age-gating mechanisms to prevent children from accessing unsuitable material.

He also noted that the government had blocked 18 streaming platforms "for publishing obscene and vulgar content" under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act in March 2024. At the time, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) had also blocked 19 websites, 10 apps, and 57 social media accounts for breaching Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act.

For social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube, Vaishnaw pointed out that the IT Rules require them to "make reasonable efforts, both independently and by encouraging users, to not host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, etc., any information that is obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, invasive of privacy, including bodily privacy, insulting, or harassing based on gender, racially or ethnically objectionable, or harmful to children."

Streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and AltBalaji have faced repeated scrutiny from the government and legal authorities for "objectionable" content deemed unsuitable for children.