The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre,Netflix, Amazon Prime, Ullu, ALTT, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and others. This notice was in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that asked the government to take action to stop the streaming of obscene content on OTT platforms and social media.

The Supreme Court told the Centre, "You should do something about it," regarding the request to ban sexually explicit content on these platforms. The court also mentioned that there were claims that this issue was interfering with the executive's responsibilities.

What the plea says

The plea argued that social media sites have profiles or pages spreading pornographic material without any filters. It also claimed that several OTT platforms are streaming content with elements of child pornography.The petition stated that such content negatively impacts the minds of youth, children, and even adults, fostering perverted and unnatural sexual tendencies. This, it claimed, leads to an increase in crime rates.

It warned that if left unchecked, the unregulated spread of obscene material could seriously affect societal values, mental health, and public safety.The petitioners stated that they had taken several steps, including sending complaints to the relevant authorities, but these actions have not produced any effective results.

The plea emphasized that it is crucial for the state to fulfill its constitutional duty to protect public morality, safeguard vulnerable groups, and ensure that the digital space does not become a platform for deviant behavior.The petition pointed out that the affordability and widespread availability of the internet have made explicit content easily accessible to users of all ages, with little to no checks in place.

It called for the Centre to block access to social media and OTT platforms until they create mechanisms to ensure that pornographic content is inaccessible, particularly to children and minors in India.The plea also requested the Supreme Court to form a committee, led by a retired apex court judge and made up of experts, to oversee and certify the content published or streamed on OTT and social media platforms, similar to the Central Board of Film Certification, until a law is passed to regulate it.

Also, the plea called for the establishment of an expert committee, including renowned psychologists from the Rehabilitation Council of India and other experts, to conduct a nationwide study on the negative impact of sexually explicit content and its effects on society.