SC: Adult Videos After Aadhaar Age Verification
CJI suggests Aadhaar-based age check for adult material
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday emphasised the need for an autonomous body to regulate social media content and suggested that age verification through Aadhaar could be implemented for accessing online material deemed “obscene.”
A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi made these observations while hearing pleas filed by YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia and others challenging FIRs registered against them over allegedly obscene comments made during Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent show.
Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted, “We are not only dealing with obscenity but perversity… something needs to be done. There are some lacunae in what is called user-generated content. I can create my own YouTube channel, I can have my own programme. I am not controlled by statutory regulations or, at least, self-imposed regulations.”
Responding to Mehta’s concerns about increasing online perversity, CJI Kant said, “Right to speech has to be respected. Suppose a programme has adult content, there must be an advance warning. The issue is that a warning appears, and the show starts immediately. Before you decide not to watch, it’s already playing. The warning may run for a few seconds… then perhaps ask for your Aadhaar card so your age can be verified before the programme starts.”
Attorney General R. Venkataramani and the Solicitor General informed the bench that the Centre has proposed fresh guidelines and that the consultation process is underway.
Senior advocate Amit Sibal, representing the Indian Broadcast and Digital Foundation, said that regulation already exists in the form of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which are presently under challenge before the Delhi High Court.
CJI Kant questioned the effectiveness of self-regulation, noting that such incidents continue to recur despite the mechanism. Underscoring the need for an independent oversight structure, he said, “Self-styled bodies will not help… Some neutral, autonomous body, free from the influence of those who exploit all of this, is needed as a regulatory measure.”
