{"id":42296,"date":"2025-04-29T21:28:50","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T15:58:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=42296"},"modified":"2025-04-29T21:29:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T15:59:11","slug":"regulation-explicit-content-ott-platforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/29-04-2025\/regulation-explicit-content-ott-platforms","title":{"rendered":"Regulation of Explicit Content on OTT Platforms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Social Issues; Government Policies and Interventions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, the Supreme Court of India has taken a significant step by <strong>issuing notices to the Central Government<\/strong> and other stakeholders regarding a plea to regulate sexually explicit content on <strong>Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms and social media.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Rapid Growth of OTT Platforms in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The rapid growth of Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms in India has revolutionized entertainment, offering diverse content to millions of viewers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>With increasing internet penetration, affordable data, and a shift in consumer preferences, OTT platforms have emerged as a dominant force in digital media consumption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Current Regulatory Framework<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>IT Rules, 2021:<\/strong> OTT platforms are governed by the <strong>Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These rules mandate content classification, parental controls, and a three-tier grievance redressal mechanism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Content Classification:<\/strong> Content is categorized based on age suitability, such as U (Universal), U\/A 7+, U\/A 13+, and A (Adult).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Platforms must display content ratings and provide parental locks for adult content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Grievance Redressal:<\/strong> A <strong>three-tier mechanism<\/strong> includes self-regulation by platforms, an industry-level body, and oversight by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&amp;B).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime follow self-regulatory frameworks such as the Digital Publishers Content Grievances Council (DPCGC).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Over-the-Top Platforms Regulatory Authority Bill, 2021:<\/strong> It proposed to establish an <strong>Over-the -Top (OTT) Platforms Regulatory Authority<\/strong> to ensure complete ban on showing violent, abusive and vulgar web series, films or such other similar content on OTT Platforms in the country and for matters connected therewith.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, it <strong>lapsed<\/strong> with the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cinematograph Act, 1952 (Amendments for OTT Platforms):<\/strong> The proposed amendments to the Cinematograph Act, 1952 seek to bring OTT platforms under the same regulatory framework as theatrical films, subjecting digital content to age-based certification and censorship norms to ensure parity and accountability across media formats.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Supreme Court\u2019s Intervention &amp; Observation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A Supreme Court\u2019s Bench acknowledged the seriousness of the issue but emphasized that <strong>Regulation of OTT Platforms in India<\/strong> falls within the domain of the <strong>Executive and Legislature.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In<strong> <\/strong>Apoorva Arora v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi (2024) Case, Court emphasized the <strong>need for objective criteria to determine obscenity,<\/strong> focusing on whether content arouses sexual or lustful thoughts rather than the perceived decency of language.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, subjective interpretation remains a challenge.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges in Regulation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Balancing Freedom and Responsibility:<\/strong> OTT platforms operate on the principle of creative freedom, making outright censorship a contentious issue.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Striking a balance between freedom of expression and responsible content governance is a key challenge.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Global Platforms, Local Norms<\/strong>: Many OTT platforms are global entities, complicating the enforcement of India-specific regulations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Large Scale Content:<\/strong> The sheer volume of content uploaded daily makes monitoring and regulation a daunting task.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Proposed Measures<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Stricter Guidelines:<\/strong> The government may introduce stricter content guidelines, focusing on explicit material and its accessibility.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enhanced Oversight<\/strong>: Strengthening the role of the Ministry of I&amp;B in monitoring content and ensuring compliance with ethical standards.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Content Control Authority (NCC<\/strong><strong>A):<\/strong> Need for establishment of NCCA to regulate objectionable material and prevent its unrestricted spread.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public Awareness:<\/strong> Educating viewers about content ratings and parental controls to promote responsible consumption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/supreme-court-regulation-obscene-ott-social-media-9970238\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Recently, the Supreme Court of India has taken a significant step by issuing notices to the Central Government and other stakeholders regarding a plea to regulate sexually explicit content on Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms and social media.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Rapid Growth of OTT Platforms in India<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The rapid growth of Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms in India has revolutionized entertainment, offering diverse content to millions of viewers.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">With increasing internet penetration, affordable data, and a shift in consumer preferences, OTT platforms have emerged as a dominant force in digital media consumption.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/29-04-2025\/regulation-explicit-content-ott-platforms\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42296"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42322,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42296\/revisions\/42322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}