Information and Broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur, during a press conference in Nagpur, spoke to media about increasing obscenity and abusive language on the OTT platform, and expressed the government’s seriousness on this issue.
I & B Minister @ianuragthakur expresses Govt's concern on increasing obscenity & abusive language on OTT platforms
1,000 @kheloindia centers will be started across the country by 15th Aug this year : Union Minster Anurag Thakurhttps://t.co/7SuPHAOdKD@MIB_India @YASMinistry
— PIB in Maharashtra 🇮🇳 (@PIBMumbai) March 19, 2023
Anurag Thakur said, “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 on the current system of censorship, Anurag Thakur said, “The process so far is that the producer has to resolve the received complaints at the first level. 90 to 92 percent of the complaints are resolved by them by making 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 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.”
Last year the Supreme Court of India dismissed a petition seeking a new system of OTT censorship. A bench consisting of Chief Justice UU Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi had reportedly heard the plea filed by Mirzapur resident Sujeet Kumar Singh to set up a preview committee that would go through all forms of OTT content before it gets released. The Court said such a process was not feasible.