OTTs Under Attack: New PIL In Supreme Court

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court of India for the creation of a new, independent body to regulate and monitor content on OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

The PIL highlights that while the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) oversees films shown publicly, there is no equivalent body for online content, which is currently regulated only by self-imposed rules that are poorly enforced.

This comes following the controversy over the Netflix series “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack.” The PIL also claims that the series misrepresents historical events, downplays the terror caused by the hijackers, and subtly glorifies their actions.

It argues that the series trivializes the tragedy of the hijacking and promotes an agenda that could harm the perception of terrorism and the Hindu community.

The petitioners are asking the Supreme Court to direct the government to establish this new regulatory board, which should be led by a senior IAS officer and include members from various sectors.

They argue that the current system fails to prevent controversial or harmful content from being widely accessible.

This follows a previous Supreme Court case in April seeking regulation of OTT content, where the court had allowed the petitioners to first address their concerns directly with the government.