Govt serious on complaints of increasing obscene content on OTT: Anurag Thakur

Union Minister of Information Broadcasting and Sports and Youth Affairs, Anurag Thakur, underlined the increasing obscenity and abusive language on OTT platforms, and expressed the Government’s seriousness on this issue. He was addressing a pree meet in Nagpur on March 19, 2023.

Thakur emphasised, “Abusive language in the name of creativity will not be tolerated. The Government is serious about the complaints of increasing abusive and obscene content on OTT platforms. If there is a need to make any changes in the rules regarding this, the Ministry is willing to consider that. These platforms were given freedom for creativity, not obscenity. Whatever necessary action needs to be taken on this, the government will not back down from it.”

Speaking further, the I&B Minister said, “The process so far is that the producer has to resolve the received complaints at the first level. 90% to 92% of the complaints are resolved by them by making the necessary changes. The next level of complaint resolution is at the level of their association, where most of the complaints are resolved. At the last level, it comes to the level of the government, where action is taken on the departmental committee level, according to the rules that are in place. But somewhere complaints have started increasing in the last few days and the department is taking it very seriously. If there is a need to make a change we are willing to consider it seriously.”