Centre to amend IT rules to curb obscene content online
The revised Code of Ethics lists types of prohibited content under the category “Obscenity”.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has prepared a detailed proposal to amend the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021, to regulate digital content considered obscene.
The proposal also indicates that the government is considering introducing an ethics code for social media users and online news by revamping the Digital Media Code of Ethics introduced under the IT Rules, 2021. The revamped code may be divided into separate parts for all digital content, streaming platforms, user-generated content and digital news publishers, thereby extending the compliance framework beyond OTT platforms to influencers and lay users on social media.
The proposal has been placed before the Supreme Court in connection with the ongoing cases Ranveer Gautam Allahabadia vs Union of India and the related CURE SMA Foundation of India vs Union of India. However, the government has also pointed out that the obscenity-related aspects cannot simply be added to the existing IT Rules because parts of those rules are already under judicial stay. After the notification of the IT Rules, 2021, 15 writ petitions were filed across high courts challenging their legality
According to the submissions, which HT has seen, the definition of “obscene digital content” has been proposed to be added: “‘Obscene digital content’ means any digital content shall be deemed to be obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect… is, if taken as a whole, such as to lend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.”
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The revised Code of Ethics lists types of prohibited content under the category “Obscenity”. Among them, digital content shall not “offend against good taste or decency”, “contain anything obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half truths” or “represent indecent, vulgar, suggestive, repulsive or offensive themes”.
It also stated that content shall not “denigrate women through the creation or possession or sharing/accessing/uploading or depiction in any manner of the figure of a woman, her form or body or any part thereof in such a way as to have the effect of being indecent, or derogatory to women…”
To determine whether content violates the Code, the ministry has referred to the community standards test in Aveek Sarkar v State of West Bengal. The draft states that the content is permissible if “a person, having contemporary community standard does not believe that the work appeals or pleases to the lustful or voyeuristic interest”.
On AI and deepfakes, MIB proposed that this be co-opted from the recent draft rules published by the IT ministry, which deal with synthetically generated information and propose to make it mandatory for social media companies to label AI generated content.
For online curated content, the proposal seeks rating categories –– U, U/A 7+, U/A 13+, U/A 16+ and A. Publishers would be required to prominently display ratings and descriptors before the programme begins. Platforms making U/A 13+ or higher-rated content available would be required to provide parental locks, and A-rated content would require “a reliable age verification mechanism”. Publishers of adult content would also need to restrict access to such content by a child through the implementation of appropriate access control measures, the government proposed.
The ministry has said that these changes are grounded in Sections 67 and 87 of the IT Act, 2000, and will be submitted to the Supreme Court in compliance with its directions.
This comes after the Supreme Court, on March 3, 2025, suggested that the Centre draft a framework that does not violate free speech rights but addresses concerns over obscene and offensive online content. During the August 25, 2025 hearing, the Attorney General told the Court that guidelines would be prepared.
The ministry has argued that it needs to present a comprehensive legal framework before the Supreme Court at the next hearing.
The Bombay high court in 2021 stayed Rule 9(1) and Rule 9(3), the Code of Ethics and the three-tier grievance redressal mechanism, respectively. The note records that the high court held that “Rule 9 imposes censorship which is ultravires of Section 69A of the IT Act, while the rule making power under Section 87 also does not provide for such restrictions”, and also observed that “the IT Act does not seek to censor content on internet except to the extent of Section 69A.”
All 15 petitions have since been transferred to the Delhi high court, where the stay on these two rules remains.
“Despite the high court’s stay, the architecture envisaged under the Rules has been fully internalised by the publishers. Digital newsrooms and OTT services remain members of self-regulatory bodies, comply with the Code of Ethics, and use the three-tier grievance redressal mechanism, mainly because these processes are already in place and integrated into their day-to-day operations,” said Garima Saxena, senior research associate at tech policy think tank, The Dialogue.
Saxena further said that as per their own assessment of the IT rules, after some initial issues most major platforms reported that their self-regulatory and grievance mechanisms were functioning reasonably smoothly. “They see value in having a predictable, standardised channel to receive and address audience complaints, and in the clarity that comes from sector-wide norms. In that context, even as the legal questions around Part III continue to be litigated, many publishers may prefer to maintain and refine the existing framework rather than dismantle systems that are already working in practice,” she added.
Officials from the MIB did not respond to HT’s request for comment
