SC dismisses PIL seeking content monitoring on OTT and digital media platforms

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a direction to the Centre for the establishment of a proper board to monitor and manage content on different OTT and digital media platforms.

Dismissing the petition, a bench, headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, said that the petition raised a "policy matter" that the apex court cannot adjudicate in the exercise of its power under Article 32 of the Constitution, empowering the Supreme Court to issue writs, directions or orders for enforcement of the fundamental rights of the citizens guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution.

"The problem is the kind of PILs we are now getting, we have no time to read genuine PILs. We are only reading PILs of this nature," observed the Bench, also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

The plea, filed by advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha, said that OTT and different digital media platforms have surely given a way out for filmmakers and artists to release content without being worried about getting clearance certificates from the censor board.

"The Union of India and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) introduced IT Rules 2021 to self-regulate OTT platforms, however the same has been inefficient. These unregulated portals are putting everything without any moderation and common people in India are watching the same from the comfort of their houses which could ultimately lead to various problems in the coming future," it said.

The PIL sought direction for the constitution of an autonomous body/board, namely a 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 the country.

"The above-mentioned board must be headed by an IAS officer of secretary level and shall further have members from varied fields including movie, cinematographic, media, defence forces, legal field and field of education," it said, adding that all OTT platforms must comply with the regulations made by it.

In November last year, the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had called for suggestions on the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023, with an aim to replace the Cable TV Networks (Regulations) Act 1995 and other policy guidelines that govern broadcasting services including DTH, OTT, and digital news platforms.

The draft bill intended to streamline regulatory processes, extend its purview to cover Over-the-Top (OTT) content and digital news, and introduce contemporary definitions and provisions for emerging technologies. Highlighting the key highlights of the Bill, the I&B Ministry said that it addresses a long-standing need to consolidate and update the regulatory provisions for various broadcasting services under a single legislative framework. It said that to keep pace with the evolving technologies and services, the bill introduced comprehensive definitions for contemporary broadcasting terms and incorporated provisions for emerging broadcasting technologies.