Censorship of OTT Platforms and other Apps – An Urgent Need!

In today’s world due to technological advancements, even entertainment has taken various forms. To mention some of the important ones would be OTT Platforms (Like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hot star, etc.), Self-Videos Apps (Like TikTok, Helo, etc.), some gaming Apps and online gambling platforms and Apps.

This industry would further develop rapidly with the current 4G and future 5G technologies. The telco giants would work ceaselessly to bring and to add more and more users to the existing database of users in their kitty in order to sustain and increase the huge profit they are making!

But the most deplorable truth is that majority of the web series and programs are unsuitable for public viewing, especially for youths, teens and children. Unnecessary violence, lust and nudity have been foisted irrespective of whether the plot demands or not. By chance, lack of trust and confidence of one’s story, one’s talent and pressure to be commercially successful could have driven this? For whatsoever reason, we cannot allow something like this which is and will continue to spoil the society as a whole in the long run. It’s a sad and menacing truth that we have not established any censorship and controlling authority for these kinds of media!

It would be very easy for an ungoverned media and Apps to manipulate and spoil the younger generation. Online gambling Apps could create a slothful society in the long run. Also, these kinds of Apps would create financial impacts on them which will in turn will harm their mental health and also create unprecedented stress to them.

If we were to talk about the evolution of reality shows, then it has only attained a very unpleasant and dangerous development!

It’s the need of the hour that the so-called creative people in mass media should exercise their freedom in a self-controlled manner with utmost responsibilities…. But we have been seeing their sense of responsibility and the kind of quality thinking in mass media so far. So, believing that they would be self-responsible would only turn out to be a great mockery! The only way to regulate and to curtail absurd thinking and dialogues, nudity, bestial violence, various scenes without any morals and ethics is to have some strict regulations either by means of existing censorship or at least to have a separate authoritative body to govern it. The same holds true for the Self-Videos Apps like TikTok, helo etc. We need to change the current scenario where one shoots whatsoever stuff and uploads it on those Apps. It is important and much needed to ensure that one should own the responsibility for their acts. The message should be loud and clear that any act of violation will attract appropriate penalties.

I would like to highlight a few things which are consequences of this kind of Apps:

#1 Data theft and identity thefts

#2 Misusing the garnered data- a) Monetization of the data b) involving in online frauds with those data

#3 The behavior of children will be influenced to act violently

#4 Country’s security-related activities- (a) especially identifying the strategically important military base locations. (b) enabling to locate the movement of the security forces and their activities by uploading videos and contents of the border areas and tourist spots. If those Apps belong to our hostile or unfriendly nations, then the complexity would be more.

With these data, they can derive clusters of people’s interest easily. Using that, they can even kindle them to protest or to rebel against the government. By feeding alike contents by means of videos, articles and games they would influence their thoughts and make use of them against one’s own country!

Though it’s been already late nonetheless we are in the dire need to establish a separate censorship board or governing body at least now for OTT platforms, Self-Videos Apps, Gaming Apps, Gambling Apps and reality shows. This body should start governing the current Apps and platforms; it should also scrutinize the future Apps, platforms and its related products exercising complete authority to screen. It should look out for contents which are disgraceful, humiliating, awkward, destroying the social order, obscene, nudeness, provoking contents in the name of caste, religion and race, sectarianism and which kindles violence etc. In addition, it should cover and scrutinize for many other angles holistically. The government should frame the necessary policies for it immediately.

Govt needs to act at a war footing priority on such matters in a similar fashion like it acts to remove any derogatory posts on social media about the ruling party or about the members of the ruling party. Govt may also punish them and all of this happens in a jiffy! It would be great to see such swiftness in these matters as well. How have we allowed such despicable and obscene content to be available for viewing at large as if we couldn’t control it at all?

We can’t deny the fact that there are some sensible and good stuffs in some web series and programs but most of them have offensive and unsuitable contents only.

This is the right moment to appreciate those who do good deeds and be stern with those who indulge in unwanted deeds!

JAIHIND.

Yours Prahaa