A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court for monitoring and control of OTT platforms. The petition demands the formation of an autonomous regulatory board for OTT and streaming platforms. The petition filed by lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha states that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certifies films in India, but there is no system to give a certificate of screening to OTT programs after watching them.
Demand was made for formation of CBRMOBC
The petitioner had also filed a petition on this issue in 2020, which is still pending. In that petition, it was demanded that the Supreme Court should order the government to form an autonomous body named Central Board for Regulation and Monitoring of Online Video Contents (CBRMOBC). It should be headed by a senior IAS officer of the secretary level. The board should also have proper representation of people associated with cinema and video program production, academicians, legal experts and people associated with the defense sector.
No impact on OTT even after guidelines
The petitioner has said that the government made IT guidelines in 2021, but it had no effect on OTT. OTT platforms take advantage of the lack of rules and keep showing controversial content without hindrance. Shows full of violence, obscenity and abusive language are being shown indiscriminately on OTT. This also affects national security. Also, evils like drug consumption and gambling are also encouraged.
Many petitions on this matter are already pending in the Supreme Court. The court has also commented on this subject many times. In 2020, the Supreme Court had said that neither has the government made a proper system of monitoring the content of OTT, nor has it made such rules which have provisions like imposing fines or prosecution for wrong content.
