Nowadays, a lot of concern is being raised about the kind of obscene content being served on OTT platforms. Such content is indeed being shown indiscriminately on many platforms, which can hurt our youth and children. Regarding this, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court and was recently heard.
Supreme Court’s grip on OTT’s ‘Ullu’ content!
This petition has garnered support from numerous prominent OTT platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Ullu, as well as social media giants such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The petitioner has demanded that objectionable and obscene content be removed immediately from all these platforms and strict steps should be taken to curb it in future.
The Supreme Court has also taken this matter seriously. The court has issued a notice to the central government and inquired about the action the government is taking in this direction. The petition clearly states that the pornographic content present on OTT and social media platforms is hurting the minds of youth and children, as well as harming society.
Central government gets ‘four weeks’ ultimatum!
It has also been said in this PIL that OTT platforms are promoting obscenity without any censorship and concrete rules. The court, accepting this, stated that some action needs to be taken on this matter. That is why the court has given 4 weeks to all the concerned parties, within which they have to file their reply.
However, during the hearing, the central government informed the court that specific rules are already applicable in this matter, including the IT Act and the guidelines issued in 2021.
Will ‘censor scissors’ be applied on OTT as well?
But the petitioner says that the existing rules are insufficient to stop pornographic content. They believe that it is crucial to impose strict laws and censorship to curb such content. Now, it seems that OTT platforms may soon be brought under the purview of censorship. The kind of freedom that OTT content is currently enjoying may quickly come to an end. Given the increasing adult content, banning it is a pressing need.
The information given in this news is based on various media reports. A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court and the court has issued notice to other platforms including the central government. The central government has cited some existing rules, but the petitioner and possibly the court are also not considering these rules as sufficient. All eyes will be on what happens in this matter next.