New OTT rules have no teeth, says Supreme Court

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The Supreme Court on Friday said the Centre's new guidelines on regulating over-the-top (OTT) platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime have "no teeth" as there is no provision for taking appropriate action against digital platforms showing inappropriate content.

"We have received the rules you (government) have filed. These rules don't have any teeth. There is no provision for prosecution. They are just guidelines," the court added. The apex court also granted protection from arrest to Amazon Prime Video's India head Aparna Purohit in FIRs lodged over web series Tandav.

Observing some OTT contents at times are pornographic, the SC on Thursday asked Centre to place its rules on regulating social media

A bench comprising justices Ashok Bhushan and R S Reddy observed that a law has to be framed to put in place a mechanism to control OTT platforms instead of mere guidelines.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said the government can come up with a better draft of the rules for the consideration of court within two weeks and the new rules were brought as a balance between "no-censorship and internal self-regulation".

Aparna Purohit, named in FIRs lodged over Tandav series, got protection from arrest

The top court had on Thursday observed that some OTT platforms at times show pornographic contents and there should be a mechanism to screen such programmes. It had asked the Centre to place its guidelines on regulating social media.

Mehta had said he would be placing on records the Information Technology (Guidelines for intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

The bench also issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on Purohit's plea for anticipatory bail in FIRs on Tandav series. It said Purohit's protection from arrest will be subject to her cooperating with the investigation and appearing before the police as and when summoned. The SC also directed Purohit to make Centre as a party to her plea.

Tandav is a nine-episode political thriller starring Bollywood A-listers Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia and Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub. Purohit has been accused of inappropriate depiction of Uttar Pradesh police personnel, Hindu deities and an adverse portrayal of a character playing the prime minister in the web series.

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