Centre warns OTT platforms to ‘follow ethics’ amid India’s Got Latent controversy

New Delhi: The central government issued a strong advisory to OTT platforms and social media channels, urging them to follow the IT Rules (2021) and enforce stricter self-regulation. This comes in the wake of a controversy surrounding Samay Raina’s popular show on YouTube – India’s Got Latent.

It is a stand-up comedy show that landed in hot water over podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia’s controversial remarks. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry in its notification on Thursday (February 20) pointed out concerns over the increasing spread of “obscene, pornographic, and vulgar content” on OTT platforms and social media. It reminded platforms that they must not transmit any content prohibited by law and must implement age-based content classification.

The ministry also stressed the role of self-regulatory bodies in ensuring compliance. “OTT platforms must adhere to the Code of Ethics and IT Rules, 2021, while publishing content, including stricter enforcement of age-based classification,” the notice read.

What triggered the advisory?

The controversy centres around a now-deleted episode of India’s Got Latent, featuring Ranveer Allahbadia, popularly known as BeerBiceps. His obscene remarks about his parents stirred backlash, leading to multiple police complaints across different states in India. Following government intervention, the episode was removed from YouTube.

Supreme Court’s statement on Ranveer Allahbadia’s case

The issue escalated when the Supreme Court took a tough stance during a hearing on Ranveer’s plea to merge the police cases filed against him. A bench led by Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh slammed the misuse of YouTube and questioned the government’s regulatory stance on “obscene” online content.

“We will not leave this vacuum. If the government does not act, we will,” the bench warned, indicating its willingness to step in if necessary.

Following the Supreme Court’s concerns, a parliamentary panel has asked the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to assess whether current laws effectively tackle such cases. The panel is also expected to suggest amendments to bring online platforms under stricter legal scrutiny.