NGO seeks ban on OTT, social networking sites for sharing obscene content

Delhi: An NGO led by former information commissioner, Uday Mahurkar, on Tuesday, demanded a ban on popular OTT platforms and social networking sites, alleging that such platforms are broadcasting sexually explicit and obscene content.

Mahurkar-promoted ‘Save Culture Save Bharat Foundation’ claimed that "unlawful acts" of OTT platforms and social networking are threatening to tear apart India's character and cultural heritage.

The foundation also demanded that the upcoming Digital India Bill include provisions for immediate ban on any propagation and streaming of "sexually-perverted content" by any platform.

Mahurkar wants the government to enact a Law of Ethics for all audiovisual platforms, set up a National Content Control Authority, and amend the IT Act to link access to online content to Aadhaar to make India the world's first pornographic content-free nation.

Addressing a press conference, Mahurkar accused OTT and social networking platforms of enabling easy access to pornographic material for millions of Indian children.

"In the post-Covid era, children mandatorily use mobile devices for education which exposes them to obscene content from X and Netflix. Any pornography on an adult's mobile is accessible to their children too," he said.

Mahurkar said the government's IT Rules of 2021 were toothless and ineffective in controlling OTT platforms, which have representatives on the Digital Publisher Content Grievance Council that is meant to address public grievances.

He said the government should include provisions in the proposed Digital India Bill to ban content providers and aggregators if they fail to control the streaming of pornographic content.