The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has summoned officials from OTT platform Netflix on allegations of making “sexually explicit content” accessible to minors on its platform. This move comes after the NCPCR cited a violation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act of 2012 due to “unrestricted accessibility” of such content to minors.
The NCPCR has exercised its powers under Section 14 of the CPCR Act, 2005, requiring Netflix representatives, namely Netflix India Vice President (Content) Monika Shergill and Policy Head Ambika Khurana, to appear in person before the commission at 3 pm on July 29, 2024.
The letter highlighted that the complaint, filed by Save Culture Save Bharat Foundation, alleged Netflix of unlawfully showcasing content including “private parts of males and females and explicit sexual activity between a male and female, two males, two females, a group of males, group of females, group of males and females (orgies)”, etc. The complaint further accused Netflix of displaying extremely bizarre scenes showcasing content highly inappropriate for young children. However, this content is easily accessible to minors on Netflix, it said.
The NCPCR in its letter stated, “It has been observed that the unrestricted accessibility of explicit content on Netflix to minors constitutes a violation of Section 11 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. This section stipulates that ‘A person is said to commit sexual harassment upon a child when such person, with sexual intent, shows any object to a child in any form or media for pornographic purposes’.”
The child rights body had previously addressed this issue with Netflix in June, but no response was received from the streaming platform.
Notably, Netflix employs a comprehensive rating system in India to ensure content is suitable for viewers of various ages. The ratings are divided into three main categories: Kids, Teens, and Adults, each with specific sub-categories. Further, the platform also allows setting a maturity rating level for a profile.
This is how users can set a maturity rating level for a profile on an Android phone or tablet, iPhone, or iPad:
1. Open the Netflix app.
2. Tap My Netflix in the lower right corner.
3. Tap the Menu in the upper right corner.
4. Tap Manage Profiles.
5. Select the profile you want to edit.
6. Tap Viewing Restrictions.
7. Tap Maturity Rating.
8. Enter your Netflix account password.
9. Set the desired maturity rating level.
However, other than parental/user controls, it has no mechanism to restrict minors from watching inappropriate content.
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