SC to hear plea on April 28 to ban explicit content on OTT, social media

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking a direction to the Centre to take appropriate steps to prohibit streaming of sexually explicit content on over the top (OTT) and social media platforms.

The plea has sought laying down of guidelines constituting a National Content Control Authority to prohibit sexually explicit content on these platforms.

According to the top court's cause list of April 28, the petition is slated to come up for hearing before a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih. 

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," it said.

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 claimed the petitioners have taken numerous steps by sending representations or complaints to the competent authorities, however, the same 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.

It said affordability and widespread penetration of internet has made explicit materials readily available to users of all ages without any checks.

It has sought a direction to the Centre to stop access to social media and OTT platforms until these platforms formulate a mechanism to ensure that all pornographic content is made inaccessible, especially to children and minors in India.

The plea has urged the top court to constitute a committee headed by a retired apex court judge and consisting of eminent experts in the field to oversee and certify for publishing or streaming contents on OTT and social media platforms on the lines of the Central Board of Film Certification until a law is enacted to regulate it.

It has also sought to constitute an expert committee of reputed psychologists recognised by the Rehabilitation Council of India and other experts to conduct a nationwide study and submit a report to evaluate the adverse impact of sexually explicit content on those consuming such content and its after effects on society at large.