SC seeks new rules on user-generated content

What the top court said No accountability for content uploaded online, SC notes

- Abraham Thomas

The Supreme Court on Thursday emphasised the need for an "effective" mechanism to regulate user-generated content and a stronger, independent oversight body, directing the Centre to draft guidelines within four weeks after public consultations.

The court said regulations are not meant to "throttle" anyone but to create a "sieve," noting the legal gap that provides no accountability for content uploaded on online platforms.

"This is something very strange that I create my own platform and channel but there is no accountability. There must be a sense of responsibility attached to such content," said a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and justice Joymalya Bagchi.

The suggestion reopens the fundamental tension in content moderation, with both tech companies and authorities being unable to adequately prevent abuse - especially on video sites such as YouTube and on podcasts, where the audiovisual format makes detection of unlawful or denigrating content more challenging.

The case arose from podcaster Ranveer Gautam Allahbadia's petition seeking protection from multiple cases over his vulgar remarks on India's Got Latent, a show on YouTube. The court had in March asked the Centre to provide guidelines to regulate such obscene, undignified speech.

In a related hearing, the court also proposed stronger age-verification mechanisms, including Aadhaar-based gating, before explicit or sensitive content becomes viewable on digital platforms, questioning the adequacy of current one-line disclaimers that viewers barely register before objectionable material starts playing.