Supreme Court Allows Withdrawal of Plea on OTT Content Regulation, Grants Liberty to Petitioner

In a significant development, the Supreme Court has permitted the withdrawal of a plea seeking regulation of inappropriate content on over-the-top (OTT) platforms. The Bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta granted liberty to the petitioner to make a representation to the Union of India regarding the issue.

The petition, filed in public interest, challenged the publication of inappropriate content on OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and others. During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel raised concerns about the unrestricted availability of content not suitable for all ages, including instances of pure nudism in some movies on OTT platforms.

In response to the petitioner's plea for viewer control directives from the court, Justice Mehta suggested that the petitioner first make a representation to the government. Agreeing with this suggestion, the counsel sought permission to submit an appropriate representation before returning to the court.

The bench granted permission to withdraw the petition, with the liberty for the petitioner to approach the Union of India with a representation addressing the grievance raised. The court clarified that the rejection of the representation by the government would not prevent the petitioner from approaching the court again.

Before concluding the proceedings, Justice Mehta noted that the petitioner's grievance appeared to be focused on a specific movie. While the counsel acknowledged this observation, they emphasized that the broader concern was the general publication of nudism on OTT platforms.

This decision marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing debate surrounding content regulation on digital platforms, highlighting the importance of a collaborative approach between the judiciary, government, and stakeholders to address emerging challenges in the digital media landscape.