Noting that while the Indian Constitution grants freedom of speech, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan reiterated in parliament that the government has put in place mandated rules to safeguard children against inappropriate content on streaming platforms.

The government is also cognisant of the growing risks posed by fake, false and misleading information on digital platforms and has laws — for example, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, under the Information Technology Act, 2000, (dated 25th February, 2021) — in place to tackle such content matters.

Replying to queries from a fellow parliamentarian, Dr. Kanimozhi NVN Somu, in Rajya Sabha (Upper House) on December 12 on matters relating to regulation of content on digital media, Murugan, according to an official statement put out, said  the IT Rules provide for a Code of Ethics for publishers of online curated content (OTT platforms), which require the publishers not to transmit any content prohibited by law.

According to Murugan, the Ethics Code mandates that the  services of curated content will put in place adequate safeguards for restricting age-inappropriate content for children. The Rules also provide for the Code of Ethics to be followed by publishers of news and current affairs. It includes adherence to the Programme Code laid down under the Cable Television Networks Act, 1995, and the Norms of Journalistic Conduct under the Press Council Act, 1978.

The Programme Code and Norms of Journalistic Conduct require publishers not to disseminate content that is inaccurate, misleading, false, or half-truths, the Minister asserted.

Murugan was asked to detail the steps being taken to regulate content on digital media platforms while ensuring freedom of expression, including the measures implemented to curb fake news and misinformation and  whether the government had taken cognizance of the accessibility of inappropriate or underage content on digital platforms to youth.

The Minister went on to enumerate the three-tier grievance redressal mechanism, listed out in IT Rules, for adherence to the Code of Ethics, which include at Level-I the publishers; the self-regulating bodies of publishers as Level 2 of checks and balances, while at Level III, an oversight mechanism of the Central or the federal government kicks in.

The provisions of self-regulation at level I and level II prescribed in the rules ensure the spirit of freedom of speech and expression of the press.

Also, Part II of the IT Rules, administered by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), among other obligations, requires intermediaries such as YouTube and Facebook to prevent the dissemination of information that is patently false, untrue, or misleading, the Minister was quoted in the statement as saying in his reply in parliament.