New Delhi, March 3 -- The government's recent advisory to social media and streaming platforms to strictly monitor and remove all content deemed obscene or vulgar, following a massive outrage over distasteful jokes on YouTube show India's Got Latent featuring podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia and comic Samay Raina, has sparked concerns about sweeping content regulations that could follow, potentially curbing freedom of expression.

Some entertainment industry executives feel the government's advisory could be a precursor to a revival of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, whose scope extended beyond OTT content and digital news to include individual social media accounts and online video creators, and imposed criminal liability for vi...