The Government has informed Parliament that regulatory authorities have received a total of 73 complaints related to inappropriate and offensive advertisements aired on private television channels over the past three years.
In a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, L. Murugan, the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, explained that these complaints were handled through a comprehensive three-tier grievance redressal mechanism.
The Minister assured that necessary actions are taken whenever advertisements breach the Advertising Code, including issuing advisories, warnings, apology scrolls, or even off-air orders when required.
Additionally, in response to another query, Murugan clarified the regulatory framework governing Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms. He stated that these platforms are bound by the Code of Ethics outlined in Part-III of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
The Minister noted that these guidelines are self-regulatory, meaning that OTT service providers are responsible for ensuring that their content does not violate legal standards. Furthermore, they must categorize their content according to age appropriateness, using five distinct age groups, based on the general parameters provided in the Rules.
Murugan also emphasized that, in doing so, OTT platforms must consider the context of the content, the historical period it depicts, and the prevailing cultural and societal norms. He added that the regulations require platforms to implement robust safeguards to prevent children from accessing age-inappropriate material.
