Central government’s big attack on obscene content, order to remove obscene and illegal content from social media companies

digital desk- The central government has warned social media companies to immediately remove obscene, indecent and illegal content related to child sexual abuse on their platforms. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has said that legal action will be taken against companies that do not comply with this order. The ministry has clarified that social media companies are responsible for monitoring content on their platforms under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The ministry has directed companies to regularly review their sites and take action against obscene, indecent and illegal content. It also says that if they do not do so, the companies will have to face litigation under the law of the country. The ministry said that there has been a decrease in action against obscene, lewd and indecent material on social media platforms, hence this strong warning has been issued.

Obscene content will have to be removed within 24 hours

The government has reminded of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, which oblige social media companies to follow content monitoring and grievance redressal rules on their platforms. According to the rules, if a person complains that a photo or video on the internet shows his/her nudity, sexual activity or a fake image, the social media platform or website must remove the content within 24 hours. The ministry said that for non-compliance of the provisions of IT Rules, 2021, action can be taken against the companies under the IT Act, 2000, BNS and other criminal laws.

There is a lot of obscene content on the internet

This step has been taken at a time when it has been seen that obscene and illegal content is spreading rapidly on many platforms and concrete action is not being taken against it. Experts say that the purpose of this order is to make the Internet safe and reduce the threat related to child sexual exploitation, obscene and indecent content. Social media companies will now not only have to increase content moderation but also take prompt steps to redress complaints.