The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of the Union government on a plea seeking measures to prohibit the streaming of sexually explicit content on over-the-top platforms and social media, reported Bar and Bench.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih issued notice to the Union government as well as OTT platforms Netflix, Amazon Prime, ALTBalaji, Ullu Digital, MUBI and technology companies Google, Meta, X and Apple.

The petition, filed by journalist and former Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar, among others, was tagged with other similar pending petitions, reported Live Law.

Filed in March, the plea warned of an “urgent and growing societal concern that threatens to corrupt the moral fabric of future generations”, citing unrestricted access to obscene, paedophilic, incestuous and pornographic content on the internet.

“What was once an individual vice has now transformed into a widespread issue, infiltrating every corner of digital platforms, from social media to over-the-top streaming services,” the petitioners said. “If left unchecked, this unregulated spread of obscene material could have severe consequences on societal values, mental health and public safety.”

The petitioners alleged that representations and complaints made to the authorities had yielded no results, and that the government had failed to take measures despite being made aware of the matter, The Indian Express reported.

They added: “A growing number of online spaces, including social media giants like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Meta (formerly Facebook), openly facilitate the dissemination of explicit content without adequate restrictions/censorship. Simultaneously, OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Ullu, ALTT (formerly, ALT Balaji), etc. continue to stream highly explicit content, some of which violates child rights and safety due to such sexually deviant material.”

The petitioners further contended that the lack of oversight had allowed social media platforms to promote content that fosters “unhealthy and perverse” tendencies among the youth. The “constant consumption” of such content “alters perceptions of sexuality, fuels deviant behaviours and contributes to rising incidents of sexual offences against women and children.”

During the hearing, Gavai verbally observed: “Let Netflix etc be also here, they also have social responsibility.”

The court noted that it may have a limited scope in the matter. “This is either for the legislature or executive. As it is, we are facing allegations of encroaching into legislative [and] executive domains,” Gavai remarked.

“Do something…something legislative,” Gavai told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Union government, according to The Indian Express.

Mehta responded that he shared the petitioners’ concerns after reviewing a list of programmes they submitted. Some content, he said, was so perverted that “even two respectable men cannot sit together and watch them”.

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the petitioners, submitted that objectionable content was freely circulating on social media without checks.

The court echoed these concerns. “Yes, we have seen children being given phone etc...to keep them busy for sometime,” Gavai said.

In its order, the court said: “This petition raises an important concern with regard to the display of various objectionable, obscene and indecent contents on OTT platforms and social media. Learned solicitor general fairly states that contents go to the extent of perversity. He submits that certain more regulations are in contemplation.”