Supreme Court directs Centre to draft social media norms with NBSA

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to place on record its proposed guidelines to regulate conduct on social media, including various forms of content, and ordered that these be crafted in consultation with the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA). The government has been given time until the next hearing of the matter in November.

As per the report, the bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said in its order, “Such guidelines shall be drafted with consultation by NBSA. The suggestions and viewpoints of all stakeholders shall be taken. The guidelines shall not be a knee-jerk reaction to any incident, but shall be wide enough to cater to future challenges.” Advocate Nisha Bhambhani represented the NBSA before the Court.

The Court was hearing a batch of petitions concerning comedians and podcasters who have faced legal proceedings over their online content. Observing the need for sensitivity, Justice Bagchi remarked, “Humour is part of life and we can take jokes on ourselves. But when you start making fun of others, there is a breach of sensitivity. India is a diverse country with so many communities, and these are the so-called influencers of today. When you are commercialising speech, you cannot use a community and hurt their sentiments.”

One of the petitions was filed by YouTuber and podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia, popularly known as BeerBiceps, in connection with alleged obscene remarks made during an episode of Samay Raina’s show India’s Got Latent, as per the report.

Another petition was filed by Cure SMA India Foundation, accusing Raina of making insensitive comments about the high cost of treatment for Spinal Muscular Atrophy and ridiculing a person with a disability. The petition also sought regulation of online content that violates the right to life and dignity of persons with disabilities.