Government informed Parliament about 73 complaints against obscene advertisements on TV channels

To another question, Murugan said OTT platforms need to follow the code of conduct under Part III of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

"These codes are self-regulatory in nature," the Minister said. Murugan said under these codes of conduct, publishers will not have to broadcast any content that is prohibited by law and will have to do age-based self-classification of content into five categories based on the general guidelines given in the rules.

The guidelines provide that such self-classification is to be done keeping in mind the context of the period depicted in such content and the current standards of the country and people to whom such contents pertain.

He said that the guidelines provide that while such self-classification is done, the context of the period depicted in such content and the contemporary standards of the country and people to whom such content relates shall be taken into account. Murugan added that the code also provides that OTT platforms would take adequate safeguards to restrict age-inappropriate content meant for children.