Children’s rights organisation NCPCR sues Netflix for allowing minors to access sexually explicit content

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has summoned representatives of the OTT platform Netflix for making “sexually explicit content” available to minors on its platform. The NCPCR had previously found a violation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, as such content was “fully accessible” to minors.

The NCPCR has exercised its powers under Section 14 of the CPCR Act, 2005 and summoned representatives of Netflix, namely Monika Shergill, Vice President (Content), Netflix India, and Ambika Khurana, Head of Policy, to appear in person before the Commission on July 29, 2024 at 3:00 pm.

The letter highlighted that in the complaint filed by Save Culture Save Bharat Foundation, Netflix had wrongly shown content such as “private body parts of men and women and explicit sexual acts between a man and a woman, two men, two women, a group of men, a group of women, a group of men and women (orgies)”, etc. The complaint also accused Netflix of showing extremely bizarre scenes with content that is highly unsuitable for young children. However, this content is easily accessible to minors on Netflix, it said.

In its letter, the NCPCR stated, “It has been found that the unrestricted accessibility of explicit content on Netflix to minors is a violation of Section 11 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. This section states: ‘A person commits sexual molestation of a child if he or she shows any object in any form or on any medium to a child for pornographic purposes with sexual intent.'”

The children’s rights organization had already raised this issue with Netflix in June, but the streaming platform had not responded.

Notably, Netflix in India employs a comprehensive rating system to ensure that content is suitable for viewers of different ages. The ratings are divided into three main categories: kids, teens and adults, each with specific subcategories. In addition, the platform also allows you to set an age rating for a profile.

Here’s how users can set an age rating for a profile on an Android phone or tablet, iPhone, or iPad:

1. Open the Netflix app.

2. Tap “My Netflix” at the bottom right.

3. Tap the menu in the top right corner.

4. Tap Manage Profiles.

Video Carousel

5. Select the profile you want to edit.

6. Tap Viewing Restrictions.

7. Tap Age Rating.

8. Enter your Netflix account password.

Video Carousel

9. Set the desired age rating.

However, apart from parental controls/user controls, there is no mechanism to prevent minors from viewing inappropriate content.

5. Select the profile you want to edit.

6. Tap Viewing Restrictions.

7. Tap Age Rating.

8. Enter your Netflix account password.

9. Set the desired age rating.

However, apart from parental controls/user controls, there is no mechanism to prevent minors from viewing inappropriate content.