New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (April 28) issued notice to the Centre and others and sought their responses on a plea seeking a direction for regulation of sexually explicit content on OTT and social media platforms.
A bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih, while issuing the notice on the plea, said that it raises and important concern and asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was representing Centre, that the government should do something on this issue.
What has the plea sought?
The plea has sought a direction to the authorities concerned to take appropriate steps to prohibit streaming of sexually explicit content on several OTT and social media platforms and guidelines constituting a National Content Control Authority to prohibit such content.
The bench, while hearing the matter, said that the issue was within the domain of the executive or the legislature.
“This is either for the legislature or executive. As it is, there are allegations that we are encroaching upon the legislature and executive power,” Justice Gavai said.
What did the petitioner submit?
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, who appeared for the petitioner, raised concerns on inappropriate content available online, and told the bench that this is happening without any checks.
What did the Centre submit?
Mehta told the bench that his worry is that children are being exposed to such programmes and that the language in some regular programmes are such that it is perverted and two men cannot sit together and watch such programmes. He further said that some regulations are existing and some more being contemplated.
“My worry is that children are exposed to all of this. The language in some regular programs is such that it is perverted and two men cannot even sit together and see these programmes. The only criteria they have is it is for ’18 plus (audience),” Mehta told the bench.
The bench issued notice to the Centre and others, including X Corp, Netflix, Amazon, Ullu Digital, ALTBalaji, MUBI, Google, Apple and Meta, after hearing submissions from the parties, Bar and Bench reported.
Plea raises an important concern: Apex Court
“The plea raises an important concern with regard to the display of various objectionable, obscene and indecent content on OTT platforms and social media. SG (Mehta) says plea shall not be taken in any adverse way. It is submitted that some of the content is perverse. SG submits that some regulations are in existence and some more being contemplated. Thus, we issue notice to respondents,” the court said while issuing notice to the respondents.
