Legal and Regulatory Response to Obscene Content on Digital Platforms: An Analysis of Recent Ministry Action

Ministry’s Action

Recently, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting blocked 18 OTT platforms, 19 websites, 10 applications, 57 social media accounts consisting of 12 Facebook accounts, 17 Instagram accounts, 16 X accounts and 12 YouTube channels. ¹

Moreover, some of these platforms had significant viewership with one of the apps having more than crore downloads of Google Play Store. These platforms utilized social media accounts in order to promote their content. These accounts had a cumulative followership of 32 lakh.²

As the content was obscene and vulgar, the Ministry’s decision was influenced by experts specializing in media and entertainment, women’s rights and child rights. ² 

Obscenity

Obscenity has always been a contentious issue in the India legal landscape. In Ajay Goswami v. Union of India,³ it was held that the content would be obscene if it lacked serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. 

The Ministry highlighted that as the content was obscene, vulgar and portrayed women in a demeaning manner, it lacked any thematic or societal relevance. In fact, the content portrayed immoral relationships such as relationships between teachers and students, incestuous family relationships etc.⁴

Though there has been a debate regarding the subjectivity of the term ‘obscenity’ but as this content consisted of sexually explicit acts, it was against the general law of the land.

Law Applicable

The Ministry invoked the following provisions to strike down such content:

• Section 67 of the IT Act: Whoever publishes or transmits or causes to be published in the electronic form, any material which is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect is such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it, shall be punished…⁵
• Section 67A of the IT Act: Whoever publishes or transmits or causes to be published or transmitted in the electronic form any material which contains sexually explicit act or conduct shall be punished…⁶
• Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code: For the purposes of this provision, a book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation, figure or any other object, shall be deemed to be obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect, or (where it comprises two or more distinct items) the effect of any one of its items, is, if taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons, who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it. ⁷
• Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act: No person shall produce or cause to be produced, sell, let to hire, distribute, circulate or send by post any book, pamphlet, paper, slide, film, writing, drawing, painting, photograph, representation or figure which contains indecent representation of women in any form. ⁸

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the Ministry was right in taking down such content as it was opposed the general laws, public policy and morality. Though there are many technical loopholes which can be exploited to access such content, but the Ministry’s formal action against such platforms shows its commitment to foster healthy values in the society.