Conservative foundation calls for ban on Netflix and social media platform “X” for broadcasting sexually explicit content

The Save Culture Save Bharat Foundation, led by former data protection commissioner Uday Mahurkar, on June 18 called for the immediate ban of X (formerly Twitter) and Netflix for spreading pornographic and sexually explicit content, which the foundation calls “blatant violations of law that threaten to destroy India’s character and cultural heritage.” The foundation has compiled a dossier of screenshots of sex scenes in Indian and foreign shows and films on Netflix, as well as a separate collection of accounts with sexually explicit material on X.

Mr Mahurkar sent official complaints to Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, urging her to block the two platforms for violating the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and other relevant laws for allegedly streaming sexually explicit content. His aim is to “make India the first country in the world free of sexually perverse content.”

Mr Mahurkar and his foundation raised concerns about the psychological impact of sexual content during a press conference on Tuesday, claiming there was a link between pornography consumption and an increase in sexual violence such as rape. He cited recent examples of violence in India, including a school principal who allegedly raped minors after they watched porn.

The foundation also recommends that the proposed Digital India Bill should include provisions for an immediate ban on the distribution and streaming of sexual content by online platforms and demands that all platforms that do not control sexual or pornographic content be blocked immediately. No draft of this bill has been released for public consultation yet.

Mr Mahurkar, a former journalist who is considered a confidant of Mr Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the BJP, also wants the government to issue a “code of ethics” to deal with “sexually perverse content” on over-the-top (OTT) platforms.

Addressing a press conference at the Press Club of India, Mr Mahurkar demanded that online platforms and creators who violate the “code” should be treated like rapists, with a prison sentence of between 10 and 20 years, three years without bail and a “speedy trial” in four months.

The dossier compiled by the foundation included examples of pornographic content from over 50 different X users, taken from the official X app and over 100 movies and web series on Netflix that contain scenes of sexual acts or nudity.

A former senior deputy editor with India todaywho considers himself a follower of controversial right-wing politician VD Savarkar and is the author of a book on Modi’s governance titled “Marching with a Billion”, Mr Mahurkar also said during the press conference that access to such sexual content should be regulated through “the Aadhaar number or the fingerprint or both”.

Another supporter of the Save Culture Save Bharat Foundation, Supreme Court lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, who represented the Hindu side in the Ayodhya Ram temple dispute before the Supreme Court, said in a press release on Tuesday: “X and Netflix are completely exposed by their comprehensive failure and total disregard for Indian laws and regulations meant to protect society from obscenity and sexual exploitation. They have done far more than just violate laws like the POCSO Act, the (Information Technology) Act and (the Indian Penal Code) – their business model itself is fundamentally unethical to the moral and cultural fabric of our nation.”

Other supporters of the foundation pointed to the major differences between Indian and Western culture in their argument for a ban on sexually explicit or pornographic content on the Internet.

“First it was the economic and political subjugation of our people and civilisation by invading forces. Now it is spiritual, cultural and sexual neo-imperialism that is capitalising on the spread of Western toxic ‘values’ of promiscuity, obscenity and depravity, which are diametrically opposed to our ancient dharmic ideals of social purity and ethics,” said Ashwani Mahaja, co-convener of Swadeshi Jagran Manch, a social movement under the umbrella of the RSS.