New Delhi, Nov 27 : The Centre on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is in the final stages of preparing a regulatory framework to address explicit and harmful content on social media platforms. Seeking an additional four weeks, the Union government apprised a Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that the proposed guidelines would soon be placed in the public domain to invite suggestions from citizens, experts, and other stakeholders.
The CJI Kant-led Bench was hearing a clutch of petitions filed by YouTubers Ranveer Allahbadia, Ashish Chanchlani, and others facing several FIRs over allegedly obscene and offensive remarks made during the controversial show “India’s Got Latent”. During the hearing, the Apex Court stressed that existing provisions may require amendments to ensure meaningful checks on online content. At this, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, the second-highest law officer of the Centre, said: “I have spoken to the concerned Minister. Before dealing with obscenity, we must first deal with wrongful acts. Anyone can create a YouTube channel, say anything under the garb of free speech, and the law is helpless. That cannot continue.” The Supreme Court suggested the Centre consider the feasibility of establishing an autonomous regulatory body to monitor online content. “If everything is allowed to be spoken or shown without accountability, what will be the consequence?” the CJI Kant-led Bench remarked. Further, it referred to the intrusive nature of online platforms and said: “Obscenity can appear in books or paintings, and those can be restricted. But when you switch on your phone, and something appears that you do not want to see – and it is forcibly pushed at you – what is the remedy?”