Report No. 276

10. The Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act)

5.23 Publishing and transmitting material "which is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect is such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it", in electronic form is prohibited and a violation thereof is punishable under section 67 of the IT Act. Further, section 67A strikes at any material which "contains sexually explicit act or conduct", penalising the same.

5.24 Section 69A further strengthens the Central Government by conferring upon it the power to direct its agencies or intermediaries to block access to infringing websites. In doing so, the IT Act is supported by the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011100.