A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court by two lawyers seeking directions to the Centre for setting up a regulatory board to monitor and manage over-the-top (OTT) and streaming platforms in India.
The petition filed by Shashank Shekhar Jha and Apurva Arhatia in the top court said these platforms operate without the same checks and balances that traditional media like films and TV are subject to.
The plea sought a direction to the respondents -- Union government, ministry of information and broadcasting and other authorities -- to constitute an autonomous body/board namely Central Board for Regulation and Monitoring of Online Video Contents (CBRMOVC) to monitor and filter the contents and regulate the videos on various platforms for viewers in India.
"The above-mentioned board must be headed by an IAS officer of secretary level and shall further have members from varied fields including movie, cinematographic, media, defence forces, legal field and field of education," the plea said.
The petitioner also sought a direction to appoint an amicus curiae (friend of the court) to assist the court in this instant petition. "Directions should also be made to OTT platforms to comply with the regulations made by CBRMOVC," the plea said.
It also further added that unlike films shown in theatres, OTT content didn't go through a certification process before release, which has led to a rise in explicit scenes, violence, substance abuse and other harmful content, often without proper warnings.
Jha said that he had earlier filed a petition, and the government introduced the IT Rules 2021 to address the issue, but they’ve proven ineffective. These platforms continue to exploit loopholes, putting out controversial content unchecked, which has national security implications and promotes activities like gambling and drugs.
"The petition is about preventing harm before it happens, not after, by ensuring there's a body to regulate this content before it reaches the public, just like we have for movies and TV," Jha said in the petition.