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Synopsis

The Supreme Court of India on Monday, 28 April 2025, issued notice to the Union of India and major Over-The-Top (OTT) and social media platforms on a plea seeking regulation of indecent and obscene content being streamed on such platforms.

A bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and Augustine George Masih, in order, said,"The present petition raises important concerns regarding the display of indecent and obscene content on OTT platforms. It is further submitted that some of the content is not only obscene but also perverse. The learned Solicitor submits that although certain regulations are already in place, additional regulations are under consideration. We will have to issue a notice to the respondents."

During the hearing, Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, appearing for the petitioners, drew the court's attention to content circulating on social media without any restrictions.

"It’s not an adversarial litigation at the outset. I must point out, there is a serious concern here. Lordship may have page 11….the content is floating without any restrictions, I have mentioned. For a moment, lordship may have page 19….the content going on without any checks," Jain submitted.

Hearing this, Justice Gavai, while addressing Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, said, "Yes, Mr Solicitor, you should do something".

In response, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, "My worry is that children today are more adept with technology than our generation and are being exposed to such content. Some of the material regularly available — the language, the content, the innuendo — it is not merely vulgar, it is perverse, and it is being telecast. Two men cannot even sit together and watch it. Although it is for 18 plus, but you cannot control that".

To this, Justice Gavai observed, "This is either for the legislature or the executive. There are a lot of allegations already that we are encroaching upon the executive domain. We will just keep it pending."

The court, however, proceeded to issue notice.

The Petition

The present petition, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, seeks directions to regulate and prohibit the streaming of obscene content on various OTT and social media platforms.

"A growing number of online spaces, including social media giants like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Meta (formerly Facebook), openly facilitate the dissemination of explicit content without adequate restrictions/censorship. Simultaneously, OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Ullu, ALTT (formerly, ALT Balaji), etc. continue to stream highly explicit content, some of which violates child rights and safety due to such sexually deviant material. The lack of effective oversight has allowed these platforms to promote content that fosters unhealthy and perverse tendencies, particularly among impressionable youth. This uncontrolled exposure to explicit material has serious consequences. The constant consumption of such content alters perceptions.-of sexuality, fuels deviant behaviours and contributes to rising incidents of sexual offences against women and children," the petition states.

It has further sought the laying down of guidelines and the establishment of a National Content Control Authority to prohibit sexually explicit content on various social media platforms.

Case Title: Uday Mahurkar v. Union of India