The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Central government on a plea demanding measures to curb the streaming of sexually explicit and inappropriate content on over-the-top (OTT) platforms and social media in India.

A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih also issued notices to major platforms, including X Corp, Netflix, Amazon, Ullu Digital, ALTBalaji, MUBI, Google, Apple, and Meta.

At the same time, the Court acknowledged the limits of its jurisdiction in the matter, observing that such issues typically fall within the domain of the legislature or executive.
"As it is, we are facing allegations of encroaching into legislative and executive domains. Nevertheless, we will issue notice," Justice Gavai remarked.

Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta appeared for the Central government. The Court also directed that notices be served on the remaining respondents.

In its order, the Court recorded that the plea raises serious concerns about the availability of objectionable, obscene, and indecent content online. The Solicitor General clarified that the petition should not be viewed adversely and informed the Court that while some regulatory frameworks are already in place, additional measures are under consideration.

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, appearing for the petitioner, highlighted that inappropriate content is easily accessible online without any effective checks, submitting detailed evidence listing specific instances with time stamps.

Echoing the concerns, Solicitor General Mehta added,
"My worry is that children are being exposed to such content. In some regular programs, the language and depiction are so perverted that two men cannot even sit together and watch. The only safeguard cited is that it is '18 plus' content."

The Bench also expressed concern over the exposure of children to such material, noting,
"Yes, we have seen children being handed phones to keep them busy."

The matter will now proceed with notices issued to all concerned parties.