The Supreme Court will hear a plea seeking a ban on sexually explicit content on OTT and social media platforms. The petition demands stricter regulation to protect public morality and children.
The Supreme Court of India will hear an important petition on Monday that asks the central government to take strong steps to stop the streaming of sexually explicit content on over-the-top (OTT) platforms and social media. According to the cause list for April 28, the petition will be heard by a bench of Justices B. R. Gavai and Augustine George Masih.
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The petitioners have requested the Supreme Court to issue clear directions to the Centre to set up a National Content Control Authority. This authority would work to prevent sexually explicit material from being shown on OTT platforms and social media.
The petitioners say that without proper rules, there are now many pages and profiles on social media that share pornographic material openly without any filters or checks. They also claim that several OTT platforms are showing content that contains elements that may lead to child pornography.
The plea says,
“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.”
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According to the petition, if such obscene material is not regulated or controlled, it can badly harm the values of society, affect people’s mental health, and create threats to public safety.
The petitioners mentioned that they have already taken several steps by sending complaints and representations to the concerned authorities. However, they said, these efforts did not bring any effective results.
They stated in their plea,
“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 petition also talks about how internet is now easily available and affordable to people of all age groups. Because of this easy access, even children and young people can reach sexually explicit content without any kind of restriction or monitoring.
To handle the situation, the petitioners have asked the Supreme Court to direct the government to temporarily stop access to social media and OTT platforms unless and until these platforms create a proper system to make sure that pornographic content is blocked, especially for children and minors in India.
Further, the petition has requested the top court to form a special committee, led by a retired judge of the Supreme Court and supported by experts in the field.
This committee would check and certify any content before it is streamed on OTT platforms or posted on social media, just like the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) regulates films. They suggest that this should continue until a new law is made for proper regulation of digital content.
The petition has also asked the court to set up another expert committee. This second committee would include reputed psychologists recognized by the Rehabilitation Council of India along with other specialists.
The job of this committee would be to conduct a nationwide study to understand the bad effects of sexually explicit content on those who watch it and its overall impact on society.
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