'Some regulations needed,' SC expresses concern on streaming of obscene content on OTT

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday expressed concern over objectionable, obscene and indecent content broadcast on OTT and other social media platforms, saying some regulation is needed.

The top court issued notices to the Centre and various OTT/social media platforms on a plea seeking direction to take appropriate steps to prohibit the streaming of such obscene content.

"We issue notice to respondents. Let Netflix, etc. be also here, they also have social responsibility," a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih said.

The top court also stressed that it was for the Executive and the Legislature to come out with measures to curb indecent content on OTT/social media platforms.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Centre, said that some regulations were already there and more were being contemplated.

The court sought a response from the Centre, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Ullu, ALTT, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and others and sought their detailed respective replies, on the PIL filed by former Central Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar.

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, appearing for Mahurkar, said that this was not an adversarial plea.

"There is a genuine concern. On social media platform, content is floating without any restriction. I have given a list of what is shown without any checks," he said.

Mehta argued that sometime the content was pervert to an extent that two respectable men can't sit together and watch.

"The condition is 18+ must watch, but there cannot be censorship. There is some regulation in place, some is in contemplation," Mehta said.

The 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.

"Such sexually deviant material pollute the minds of youth, children and even grown up persons which gives rise to perverted and unnatural sexual tendencies thereby leading to an increase in the crime rate," the plea said.

If left unchecked, the unregulated spread of obscene material could have severe consequences on societal values, mental health and public safety, it cautioned.

The plea also claimed numerous steps like sending representations or complaints to the competent authorities have yielded no effective result.

"It is the need of the hour that the State must uphold its constitutional duty to safeguard public morality, protect vulnerable populations, and ensure that the digital space does not become a breeding ground for deviant behaviour," the plea said.