NEW DELHI: Expressing "serious concern" over the broadcast of objectionable and obscene content on OTT and social media platforms, the Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Centre and several platforms, observing that some form of regulation was necessary while hearing a plea seeking curbs on such content.
A two-judge bench led by Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih said, "We issue notice to respondents. Let Netflix etc., be also here, they also have social responsibility." The court noted that it was for the Executive and Legislature to introduce measures to regulate indecent content online.
Finding merit in the PIL, the top court on Monday issued notice to Centre, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Ullu, ALTT, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and others and sought their detailed respective replies
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, informed the court that some regulations were already in place and more were being contemplated. He remarked that some content was so perverse that "two respectable men can't sit together and watch," pointing out the need for stronger checks despite existing 18+ age warnings.
Mahurkar, in his plea, claimed there were pages or profiles on social media sites that were disseminating pornographic materials without any filter, and various OTT platforms were streaming content that also has potential elements of child pornography.
The notices were issued on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Uday Mahurkar, who sought directions to the Centre to prohibit the streaming of obscene and pornographic material on OTT and social media platforms.
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, appearing for Mahurkar, emphasised that the petition was not adversarial but highlighted genuine concerns about unrestricted access to explicit content.
Mahurkar's plea warned that unregulated sexually explicit material could pollute the minds of youth and children, foster perverted tendencies, and increase crime rates. He stressed that the spread of such content, if unchecked, could severely impact societal values, mental health, and public safety.
The petition also pointed out that despite repeated representations to authorities, no effective action had been taken, necessitating judicial intervention to safeguard public morality and protect vulnerable populations in the digital space.