NCPCR asks govt to ensure disclaimers on OTTs to keep minors off adult content

According to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting should require over-the-top (OTT) providers to include, in English, in Hindi and in local languages, disclaimers before broadcasting any adult material on their platforms. Declarations should be included citing legal implications with regard to child viewing child abuse materials and gambling.

It was asserted that under section 11 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and section 75 under the Juvenile Justice Act a liability to abuse the child exists. Section 11 of the POCSO Act deals with the sexual harassment of children by including usage of pornographic materials subject to a penalty of not less than 36 months in prison plus a fine.

Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act deals with the issues of cruelty against a child, whereby an offender is liable for a prison term of three years, a fine worth a hundred thousand rupees, or both.

The NCPCR wrote a letter to the Ministry dated on 19th September explaining the issue, after a meeting held in August and attended by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), other ministries and NCPCR, regarding minors crimes after being exposed to unsuitable content.

The Commission explained that while registration in OTT platforms is facilitated, children can create profiles but the profiles are not password protected enabling children access to children’s materials that are ad dolore content.

Also, NCPCR suggested to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to impose age restrictions on the social media platforms as per the provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 in order to better protect children in the online environment.