SC seeks Centre’s response on petition against ‘obscene’ content on OTT platforms

The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of the Union government on a plea seeking measures to prohibit the streaming of sexually explicit content on over-the-top platforms and social media, reported Bar and Bench.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih issued notice to the Union government as well as OTT platforms Netflix, Amazon Prime, ALTBalaji, Ullu Digital, MUBI and technology companies Google, Meta, X and Apple.

The petition, filed by journalist and former Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar, among others, was tagged with other similar pending petitions, reported Live Law.

Filed in March, the plea warned of an “urgent and growing societal concern that threatens to corrupt the moral fabric of future generations”, citing unrestricted access to obscene, paedophilic, incestuous and pornographic content on the internet.

“What was once an individual vice has now transformed into a widespread issue, infiltrating every corner of digital platforms, from social media to over-the-top streaming services,” the petitioners said. “If left unchecked, this unregulated spread of obscene material could have severe consequences on societal values, mental health and public safety.”

The petitioners alleged that representations and complaints made to the authorities had yielded no results, and that the government had failed to take measures despite being made aware of the matter, The Indian Express reported.

They added: “A growing number of online spaces,...

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