SC dismisses plea for direction to set up regulatory board to monitor & manage OTT platforms

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea by two advocates seeking a direction to the Centre for setting up a regulatory board to monitor and manage over-the-top (OTT) and streaming platforms in India.

Supreme Court Declines Petition to Regulate OTT Platforms, Emphasizes Policy Jurisdiction

A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra that the issues raised in the plea fell in the domain of policy.

"This is the problem of PILs. They are all on policy matters, with these kinds of PILs, we miss out genuine PILs," the bench said.

The court also declined a plea by the petitioner to make a representation to the government.

Plea Highlighted Unchecked Content on Streaming Services, Citing National Security Concerns

The petition by lawyers Shashank Shekhar Jha and Apurva Arhatia claimed these platforms operate without the same checks and balances that traditional media—like films and TV—are subject to.

The plea sought a direction to the UOI, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and other respective  authorities to constitute an autonomous body/board namely Central Board for Regulation and Monitoring of Online Video Contents (CBRMOVC) to monitor and filter the contents and regulate the videos on various platforms for viewers in India.

"The above-mentioned board must be headed by an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer of secretary level and shall further have members from varied fields including movie, cinematographic, media, defence forces, legal field and field of education," the plea said.

The petitioner also sought a direction to appoint an Amicus Curie (Friend of the court) to assist the court in this instant petition. "Direction should also be made in or any other directing all OTT platforms to comply with the regulations made by CBRMOVC," the plea said.

The petitioners said unlike films shown in theatres, OTT content didn't go through a certification process before release, which has led to a rise in explicit scenes, violence, substance abuse, and other harmful content, often without proper warnings.

Earlier, the government introduced the IT Rules 2021 to address the issue, but they’ve proven ineffective. These platforms continue to exploit loopholes, putting out controversial content unchecked, which has national security implications and promotes things like gambling and drugs.

"The petition is about preventing harm before it happens, not after, by ensuring there's a body to regulate this content before it reaches the public, just like we have for movies and TV," the plea stated.