Delhi High Court Tells Government To Tighten Rules To Check Language Across OTT Mediums

The Delhi high court on Monday exhorted the Union government to tighten regulations on the language used in web series streamed on OTT (over-the-top) platforms.

The court said, “The use of obscene words and foul language on social media platforms has to be regulated when it crosses a particular line as it can be a true threat to impressionable minds and cannot receive constitutional protection of free speech”.

Further, Delhi high court added, “While students can be punished for uttering or using profane speech in schools and offices, authorities also need to regulate profanity which enters into the domain of indecent speech by a broadcast medium”.

Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma’s observation came while upholding a direction to register an FIR against TVF Media Labs and actors of its web series under Section 67A (punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act in electronic form) and Section 67 (punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form).

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The court dropped charges of obscenity and its circulation under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The high court stated that the challenge faced by our country, as faced by many other countries, for enacting appropriate laws, guidelines, and rules to regulate the content on social media and on OTT platforms needs urgent attention.

“This court draws the attention of the Ministry of Information and Technology to the situations which are fast emerging on a daily basis and to take steps for enforcing the stricter application of its rules qua the intermediaries as notified in Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 and make any laws or rules as deemed appropriate in its wisdom, in light of the observations made in this judgment”, the court added.