The regulatory bodies have received 73 complaints regarding obscene and vulgar advertisements aired on private television channels over the past three years, the government has informed Parliament.
In a written response in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan stated that the complaints were “suitably” addressed by a three-tier grievance redressal system.
Murugan explained that the mechanism, established under the Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Rules, includes self-regulation by broadcasters, self-regulation through broadcasters’ self-regulating bodies, and an oversight system by the central government.
The Minister stated that when the Advertising Code is violated, appropriate actions are taken, including the issuance of “Advisories, Warnings, ‘Apology Scroll’ Orders, and Off-air Orders.”
In reply to a separate question, Murugan stated that OTT platforms are required to adhere to the Code of Ethics under Part-III of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
The Minister said, “These codes are self-regulatory in nature.”
Murugan stated that these Codes of Ethics require publishers to refrain from transmitting content prohibited by law and to undertake age-based self-classification of content into five categories, as outlined in the Rules.
The guidelines state that when carrying out self-classification, it is important to consider both the context of the period depicted in the content and the current standards of the country and its people to which the content pertains.
Murugan highlighted that the Code also provides that the OTT platforms will put proper safeguards to restrict age-inappropriate content for children.
