{"id":350498,"date":"2025-11-22T20:32:54","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T15:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=350498"},"modified":"2025-11-25T19:06:41","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T13:36:41","slug":"new-framework-for-obscenity-on-digital-platforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/new-framework-for-obscenity-on-digital-platforms\/","title":{"rendered":"New Framework for Obscenity on Digital Platforms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>UPSC Syllabus- <\/strong>Cyber Laws and Regulations: IT Act, 2000, rules regarding online content, and recent amendments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>News- <\/strong>The Union government has proposed new rules to define \u201cobscenity\u201d and other banned content on digital platforms under the IT Rules, 2021. The aim is to make clear what counts as prohibited content and to expand the Code of Ethics so that it applies not just to websites, but also to social media, OTT platforms, and digital news portals. <strong>New Framework for Obscenity on Digital Platforms.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-350664\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/New-Framework-for-Obscenity-on-Digital-Platforms-1.png?resize=390%2C259&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"New Framework for Obscenity on Digital Platforms\" width=\"390\" height=\"259\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/New-Framework-for-Obscenity-on-Digital-Platforms-1.png?resize=300%2C199&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/New-Framework-for-Obscenity-on-Digital-Platforms-1.png?resize=1024%2C680&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/New-Framework-for-Obscenity-on-Digital-Platforms-1.png?resize=768%2C510&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/New-Framework-for-Obscenity-on-Digital-Platforms-1.png?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 390px) 100vw, 390px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong><u>Background of the Proposed Amendment<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Supreme Court, while hearing a case involving comedian <strong>Samay Raina<\/strong> and a controversial joke, asked the government to come up with guidelines that strike a delicate balance between <strong>freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a)<\/strong> and <strong>reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2)<\/strong>. In response, the <strong>Ministry of Information and Broadcasting<\/strong> submitted a detailed proposal outlining new regulatory measures.<\/p>\n<p>These proposals emerge at a time when concerns over <strong>sexual content, deepfakes, harmful speech, and misinformation<\/strong> are growing, prompting the government to strengthen oversight of digital platforms.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Key Features of the Proposed Guidelines<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Definition of Obscene Content:<\/strong> For the first time, the IT Rules explicitly define \u201cobscenity,\u201d drawing from <strong>Section 67 of the IT Act, Cable TV Programme Code, and Indian Penal Code (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Expansion of Code of Ethics:<\/strong> A new chapter on <strong>Obscenity<\/strong> applies to <strong>OTT platforms and digital news portals<\/strong>, covering 17 restrictions, including vulgarity, glorification of crime, and bias against communities.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Alignment with TV Standards:<\/strong> The Cable TV Programme Code is transposed to digital platforms, raising questions about its relevance online.<\/li>\n<li><strong>OTT Compliance:<\/strong> Platforms may need to ensure content is fit for <strong>public exhibition<\/strong>, akin to films under the <strong>Cinematograph Act, 1952<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Revival of IT Rules 9(1) and 9(3):<\/strong> Previously stayed by courts, these rules enforcing the Code of Ethics are proposed to be revived.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Community Standards Test:<\/strong> The Aveek Sarkar v. State of West Bengal test will decide if content is obscene. Content is acceptable if:\n<ul>\n<li>A reasonable person today would not see it as sexually provocative or voyeuristic.<\/li>\n<li>It has literary, artistic, scientific, or political value.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><u>Criticism of the Proposal<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Digital rights groups have flagged several issues:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Overbroad definitions<\/strong> could classify too much content as obscene<\/li>\n<li><strong>Executive overreach<\/strong> by expanding IT Rules instead of using parliamentary amendments<\/li>\n<li><strong>Risks to free speech<\/strong>, as ambiguous terms like \u201cgood taste\u201d may be misused<\/li>\n<li><strong>Overlap with pending court cases<\/strong>, since some rules are already stayed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><u>Implications for Digital Platforms<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If implemented:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Platforms will need <strong>stricter moderation and compliance processes<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>OTTs may face <strong>film-like certification requirements<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Social media platforms would have to <strong>proactively filter indecent or vulgar content<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Digital publishers could experience <strong>heightened regulatory oversight<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Overall, the amendment has the potential to <strong>reshape India\u2019s digital content ecosystem<\/strong>, bringing it closer to a <strong>broadcast-style regulatory framework<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 97.8654%; height: 20px;\" width=\"624\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"624\"><strong>Question<\/strong>&#8211; Examine the key features of the proposed online obscenity guidelines, the concerns of digital rights groups, and their potential impact on India\u2019s digital content ecosystem<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UPSC Syllabus- Cyber Laws and Regulations: IT Act, 2000, rules regarding online content, and recent amendments. News- The Union government has proposed new rules to define \u201cobscenity\u201d and other banned content on digital platforms under the IT Rules, 2021. The aim is to make clear what counts as prohibited content and to expand the Code&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/new-framework-for-obscenity-on-digital-platforms\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">New Framework for Obscenity on Digital Platforms<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":350662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230],"tags":[212,225],"class_list":["post-350498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-polity","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/New-Framework-for-Obscenity-on-Digital-Platforms.png?fit=1280%2C850&ssl=1","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}