NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday backed the push for “screening” of content being telecast on OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime as some of the shows contained “pornography” and directed that the Centre’s recently-framed rules to regulate social media and OTT platform be placed before it.
At the outset of the hearing on the anticipatory bail plea of Amazon Prime’s commercial head Aparna Purohit in the ‘Tandav’ case, a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R Subhash Reddy asked whether content of online platforms should be screened.
Observing that traditional film viewing had changed with people not going to cinema halls to watch films and instead accessing them on internet platforms, the bench said, “There should be some screening of the shows. They sometimes show pornography content.”
Agreeing with the bench’s observation, solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, said shows on OTT platforms also contained foul language. Mehta appeared for UP as the FIR in the ‘Tandav’ case was filed in the state.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Purohit, told the bench that the Centre recently framed rules to regulate social media and OTT platforms but contended that it would not be applicable in the case of his client as the rules was framed just a week ago. He said it was a “shocking” case as his client was neither the producer nor the director of the show but just an employee of Amazon.
The bench, however, said a balance had to be maintained in such cases between the artist’s right to freedom of speech and expression and the right of people who got offended by the contents of the show, and asked Mehta to place the rules framed by the Centre before it and posted the case for hearing on Friday.
Under the new rules, OTT platforms and digital media will be required to disclose information about where they publish, the nature of the contents they share as well as their subscriber data. They will also be required to set up a grievance redress mechanism. For regulation of OTT platforms, the government mandated that a self-regulation body, headed by a retired judge or an eminent person, should be set up, besides “age-gating” of the content.
Purohit approached the SC after the HC on February 25 declined to give her protection from arrest. UP police had filed an FIR against the top Amazon Prime executive for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.