The digital censor board threat

• India’s Got Latent, a show hosted by comedian and YouTuber Samay Raina, has sparked a moral panic due to crude remarks made by YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia.

• The show, which critiques the “latent” talents of aspiring performers, has been condemned by Chief Ministers, a Parliamentary Standing Committee, and the Supreme Court.

• The Supreme Court’s ruling in Apoorva Arora v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi (2024) quashed criminal prosecutions for foul language in an OTT show called College Romance.

• The Supreme Court emphasized that coarse language, however distasteful or improper, does not automatically become obscene.

• Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which allows the Indian government to block access to a website, has been invoked against India’s Got Latent.

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s push for a sweeping Broadcasting Bill has received momentum due to the recent clamour for stronger censorship.

• The Parliamentary Standing Committee of Information Technology, headed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, has urged the Ministry to propose new regulations and amendments.

• The government introduced the Information Technology Rules on February 25, 2021, which now cover digital news media and OTT platforms.

• OTT platforms have entered into a “Faustian bargain” by inviting censorship powers of the Ministry to escape criminal prosecution.

• The current situation is not just an outcome of a single controversy but also a result of rising online vulgarity fuelled by cheap data and ubiquitous teleconnectivity.