The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday ordered issue of notices to the Centre, YouTube, Google India, and platforms like Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Netflix and Alt Digital, on a PIL petition seeking direction on regulating films, serials and other multimedia content transmitted by them on the Internet.
A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice L. Narayana Swamy and Justice P.S. Dinesh Kumar passed the order on the petition, filed by Padmanabh Shankar, a resident of Bengaluru, complaining that there is no statutory mechanism to regulate transmission of films, cinema, and other multimedia content through the net.
Pointing out that the Cinematographic Act, 1952, and the Cable Television Network Regulation Act, 1995, are silent on broadcast or transmission of films, cinema, serials and multimedia content on the Internet, the petitioner asked the court to declare that the Cinematographic Act applies to transmission or broadcast of such content on the Internet till suitable legislation was made. Also, he sought direction from the Court to the Central Board of Film Certification to certify all films, cinema, serials, and multimedia content on streaming platforms and restrict them to any profession or class of persons based on the nature, content and the theme of the contents, till a suitable body is formed for regulating such content through legislation.
