Centre warns OTT platforms against inadvertent promotion of drugs
New Delhi (PTI): The government has cautioned OTT platforms of further regulatory scrutiny if they are found streaming content that inadvertently promotes, glamorises, or glorifies the use of drugs through the main protagonist and other actors without disclaimers or user warnings.
In an advisory to OTT platforms, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said, "Such a portrayal has serious repercussions, particularly regarding the potential influence on young and impressionable viewers".
Citing the Code of Ethics for OTT platforms, the advisory asked them to exercise due diligence in content review and issue disclaimers or user warning while for any programming that contains depiction of drug use.
"OTT platforms are requested to voluntarily conform to these guidelines in the larger public interest. Non-compliance may result in further regulatory scrutiny, especially in the light of the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 read with the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), 1985," the advisory said.
The Code of Ethics for OTT platforms provides that a publisher shall not transmit, publish, or exhibit any content prohibited under any law for the time being in force or by any court of competent jurisdiction.
The advisory has also been shared with the self-regulatory bodies of OTT platforms.
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Murder case: Bengaluru police to challenge bail granted to actor Darshan, others in SC
Bengaluru (PTI): Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda on Tuesday said that efforts are on to file an appeal in the Supreme Court, against the bail granted to Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and other accused in the Renukaswamy murder case.
A proposal will be submitted to the state government in this regard, he said.
The Karnataka High Court on Friday granted conditional bail to Darshan, who is accused number 2 in the case.
The bench of Justice S Vishwajith Shetty had also granted bail to Darshan's friend Pavithra Gowda, who is accused number 1, and other accused - R Nagaraju, Anu Kumar alias Anu, Lakshman M, Jagadeesh alias Jagga and Pradoosh S Rao.
"In connection with the Renukaswamy murder case, with regards to bail that has been granted, efforts are on to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. We will submit a proposal to the government on this," Dayananda told reporters here.
Darshan was arrested on June 11. Pavithra Gowda and 15 other co-accused in the case were arrested during the same period.
The 47-year-old actor was already out on interim bail for medical reasons.
He had walked out of Ballari jail on October 30 after being imprisoned for more than four months, hours after the Karnataka High Court gave him relief for six weeks on medical grounds, to undergo spine surgery.
Pavithra Gowda, today walked out of the Parappana Agrahara central prison here on bail, after completing formalities.
According to police, 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, had sent obscene messages to his friend Pavithra Gowda, which enraged Darshan, allegedly leading to his murder. His body was found near a stormwater drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli here on June 9.
Raghavendra, one of the accused who is part of Darshan's fan club in Chitradurga, had brought Renukaswamy to a shed in R R Nagar here, on the pretext that the actor wanted to meet him. It was in this shed that he was allegedly tortured and murdered.
According to the post-mortem report, Renukaswamy, a native of Chitradurga, died due to shock and hemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries.
Police have said Pavithra, who is accused number one, was the "major cause" for Renukaswamy's murder, claiming that it has been proved from the probe that she instigated other accused, conspired with them, and took part in the crime.
