‘India’s Got Latent’ row: IT ministry to brief Parliament panel on changes to regulate social media

The information technology ministry is expected to respond by next week to a parliamentary standing committee about the existing framework to regulate social media and the need for amendments to bring the platforms under legal scrutiny to “safeguard the societal values”, The Indian Express reported on Thursday.

The parliamentary panel on information technology had asked the ministry for a response after a controversy was triggered by the sexually explicit comments made by YouTuber and podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia on a comedy talent show.

Allahbadia jokingly asked a contestant an explicit question insinuating incest during an episode of India’s Got Latent that was released on February 9. This was in line with the show’s pattern of provocative humour from judges and participants. The show is hosted by comedian Samay Raina and Allahbadia participated in one of the episodes as a guest judge.

On February 11, the episode was taken down by YouTube based on a complaint by the Union government. Additionally, a first information report was registered in Maharashtra against “all members who played roles in all episodes” of the show. Similar FIRs were also filed in Assam and Rajasthan.

Raina subsequently deleted all other episodes of the show from his YouTube channel.

In an internal communication prepared by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to formulate a response for the panel’s query, it…

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