The Nationwide Fee for Safety of Little one Rights (NCPCR) has written to the Ministry of Data and Broadcasting, asking it to make sure that over-the-top (OTT) platforms show disclaimers in “English, Hindi, and native/regional languages earlier than exhibiting any grownup content material”.
These disclaimers, it mentioned, should cite Part 11 of the Safety of Kids from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and Part 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Safety of Kids) Act, “warning subscribers that they might be held liable” beneath these authorized provisions “if their baby views grownup content material”.
Part 11 of the POCSO Act refers to actions that represent sexual harassment of a kid, together with exhibiting “any object to a toddler in any kind or media for pornographic functions”. The punishment on this case is imprisonment as much as three years and a fantastic. Part 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act particulars punishment for cruelty to a toddler – assaulting, abusing, neglecting, exposing, abandoning the kid is punishable by imprisonment as much as three years or a fantastic of Rs 1 lakh or each.
The NCPCR’s letter to the Ministry dated September 19 got here after it convened a gathering in August with representatives of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), and numerous central ministries to “deal with the alarming enhance amongst minor kids committing crime after watching pornographic content material”. The letter was additionally despatched to the Ministry of Electronics and Data Expertise and the Ministry of Telecommunications, with suggestions for mandatory motion.
An official with the NCPCR mentioned that the disclaimers had been sought since OTT platforms enable completely different profiles to be created relying on who’s watching, however these profiles are usually not password protected, permitting kids entry to all kinds of content material.
The NCPCR has additionally advisable that the Ministry of Electronics and Data Expertise be certain that social media platforms “get hold of verifiable consent” from dad and mom in accordance with the Digital Private Knowledge Safety Act 2023. The Act states that earlier than processing any private knowledge of a kid, the info fiduciary shall get hold of verifiable consent of the mother or father or guardian.
In its suggestions, the NCPCR has mentioned that the Ministry of Telecommunications might study the feasibility of issuing SIM playing cards within the title of a kid.
