The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has been monitoring Bollywood and other Indian media for a while to ensure child safety in content.
Recently, they have taken action against Netflix, accusing the streaming service of making sexually explicit content available to minors.
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This is based on a complaint from a group called Save Culture, Save Bharat Foundation, which claims Netflix has violated laws meant to protect children from sexual offenses.
Netflix met with NCPCR on July 29, 2024, to address these accusations.
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This follows a recent press conference held by the Save Culture, Save Bharat Foundation in Delhi.
At this event, they urged the government to ban Netflix and X (formerly Twitter) for breaching child protection laws and the Information Technology Act.
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They provided evidence to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, showing explicit content on these platforms.
The foundation argued that Netflix, being available through mobile and Wi-Fi plans, might allow many children to access inappropriate content. They believe this breaks a specific rule in the POCSO Act, which bans showing pornography to minors.
They also suggested creating new rules for all streaming platforms to limit what kind of content can be shown, including restrictions on scenes, themes, and language. Violations could lead to severe penalties, including long prison sentences.
Netflix has its own measures to manage content, including maturity ratings for TV shows and movies, ranging from general audiences to adults only. Users can adjust these settings to control what appears on their profiles and can lock profiles with a PIN.
Aside from these issues, Netflix has faced criticism for other content as well. For example, in June, there was backlash over a film called Maharaj for allegedly depicting Hindu figures negatively.
Netflix also received numerous complaints about content violating ethical codes, which require careful handling of religious and sensitive topics.
