Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw calls for stricter laws on social media and OTT platforms

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has called for stricter laws on social media and OTT platforms.

Replying to supplementaries in Lok Sabha, he said that the existing laws definitely need to be strengthened further to check vulgar contents on the social media.

Ashwini Vaishnaw said, today social media is a very big medium of freedom of the press on one hand but at the same time, on the other hand, due to the absence of editorial check in social media, many types of vulgar content are also displayed.

On content in OTT platforms,Ashwini Vaishnaw said, there is a lot of difference between the culture of our country and the countries from where these social media platforms have come. He said, the concerned Standing Committee of the Parliament should take up this issue and strict laws are made regarding the same.

The Minister said, Government has notified IT Rules, 2021 under the Information Technology Act. These Rules provide for a Code of Ethics for publishers of OTT platforms which require the publishers not to transmit any content which is prohibited by law and to undertake age based classification of content into five categories.

The Code also provides that the OTT Platform should put in place adequate safeguards for restricting age inappropriate content for children.

Ashwini Vaishnaw said, in March this year, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has taken action and blocked 18 OTT platforms for publishing obscene and vulgar content under the provisions of IT Act.