Vulgarity in the name of creativity on OTT platforms cannot be tolerated: Anurag Thakur

Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur addressing at the 13th convocation of Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University in Chennai on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: M. VEDHAN

Union Minister of Information Broadcasting and Sports Anurag Thakur on Sunday said the government was serious on the complaints of increasing obscenity and abusive language on over-the-top (OTT) platforms.

“Abusive language in the name of creativity will not be tolerated. The government is serious about the complaints of increasing abusive and obscene content on OTT platforms. If there is a need to make any changes in the rules regarding this, the Ministry is willing to consider that,” he said while talking to reporters in Nagpur.

Mr. Thakur said that the OTT platforms were given freedom for creativity, not obscenity. “And when someone crosses a limit, then abusing, rudeness in the name of creativity cannot be accepted at all. Whatever necessary action needs to be taken on this, the government will not back down from it,” he said.

Further, he said, the process so far was that the producer had to resolve the received complaints at the first level and 90 % to 92 % of the complaints were resolved by them by making necessary changes. “The next level of complaint resolution is at the level of their association, where most of the complaints are resolved. At the last level it comes to the level of the government, where action is taken on the departmental committee level, according to the rules that are in place,” the Union Minister said, adding that complaints had started increasing in the last few days and the department was taking it very seriously.

 If there was a need to make a change “we are willing to consider it seriously”, he added.