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Synopsis

A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Madras High Court, urging the government to create a system for regulating YouTube content to ensure it adheres to Indian laws and societal and religious beliefs.

The petitioner, V. Parthiban, a lawyer based in Chennai, expressed his distress over the "menace and untold hardship" caused by certain YouTube content. He emphasized that India, being a conservative nation, has built-in restrictions on freedom of speech to prevent harm to religious sentiments and unjustified attacks on public figures under the guise of comedy.

When the case was placed for admission before the division bench of Acting Chief Justice D. Krishnakumar and Justice K. Kumaresh Babu on Monday, the bench observed that the petitioner had only included the State government and not the Centre, which is a necessary party. Consequently, the judges granted Parthiban a week to add the Centre as a respondent.

Parthiban highlighted that YouTube lacks pre-censorship, allowing videos to be posted without prior oversight unless flagged as objectionable. By the time YouTube reacts, millions of viewers may have already seen the content, worsening the issue, he alleged.

The petitioner argued that India's conservative nature includes inherent restrictions on freedom of speech, prohibiting individuals from offending religious sentiments or baselessly attacking public figures under the pretext of comedy.

However, he lamented the absence of pre-censorship on YouTube, pointing out that the platform does not review videos unless flagged.

The plea emphasized that YouTube, being based in California, does not consider India's religious and socio-cultural values and since YouTube is the main facilitator, offering a free platform for unchecked and uncensored posts and comments, therefore, it must be held accountable.