Supreme Court Issues Notice on PIL Alleging "Obscene" Content on OTT Platforms

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to major OTT platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Alt Balaji, after hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) alleging the distribution of "obscene" and "perverse" content.

Appearing for the petitioners, Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain emphasized that the plea was non-adversarial and aimed to highlight the unrestricted nature of indecent content circulating on digital platforms. "On social media and OTT, content is floating without any checks," he argued, presenting a detailed list to the court.

Justice B.R. Gavai, hearing the matter, urged Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to consider a legislative solution. "Do something...something legislative," the judge said.

The Solicitor General acknowledged the concerns, admitting that children today are highly tech-savvy and vulnerable to such material. He noted, "Some of the content is so perverse that even two respectable adults would feel uncomfortable watching it together."

While some regulatory mechanisms are already in place, Mehta informed the bench that further measures are under consideration. The court, recognizing the gravity of the issue, directed that notices be sent to the OTT platforms, underscoring their "social responsibility."