NEW DELHI: Expressing concern over objectionable, obscene and indecent content material being broadcast on OTT/social media platforms that are accessible to even children, SC on Monday stated some regulation is required however restrained from intervening and stated the Centre to take a legislative or government route to handle the issue.
“It’s not our area. You do one thing,” a bench of Justices B R Gavai and A G Masih informed SG Tushar Mehta who assured the apex court docket that the government would study it. SG stated that some regulation is already in place however extra is being contemplated.
The bench stated that it could monitor the steps taken by the government and likewise issued discover to varied OTT and social media platforms which have been arrayed as events – Netflix, Amazon Prime, AltBalaji, Ullu Digital, Mubi, X Corp, Google, Meta Inc and Apple. SC was listening to a PIL alleging that there had been no checks on obscene and vulgar contents being floated on social media platforms out there on cellphones.
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, showing for the petitioners, stated the difficulty raised in PIL was not adversarial however a real concern which wanted to be addressed. Agreeing with him, the bench stated that these days even babies have entry to cellphones they usually may additionally get entry to objectionable content material. “Sure, Mr Solicitor? Do one thing… ” the bench requested Mehta and he replied that the government would quickly come out with one thing to cope with this drawback.
“This petition raises an vital concern with regard to show of assorted objectionable, obscene and indecent contents on OTT platforms and social media. Discovered Solicitor Normal pretty states that contents go to the extent of perversity. He submits that sure extra laws are in contemplation,” bench stated in its order.
The petitioner alleged that this unregulated unfold of obscene materials may have extreme penalties on societal values, psychological well being and public security. “The unchecked circulation of such materials, together with youngster pornography and softcore grownup content material, has contributed to a rising pattern of crimes towards ladies and youngsters whereas negatively shaping the psychological growth of younger minds…. A rising variety of on-line areas, together with giants like X, Instagram, and Fb, brazenly facilitate the dissemination of express content material with out enough restrictions/censorship. Concurrently, OTT platforms comparable to Netflix, Amazon Prime, Ullu, ALTT (previously, ALT Balaji), and so forth, proceed to stream extremely express content material, a few of which violates youngster rights and security as a result of such sexually deviant materials,” the petition acknowledged.