Madras HC Issues Notice to Centre on Plea Seeking to Regulate YouTube

The Madras High Court has issued notices to the Centre and Tamil Nadu government regarding a petition that seeks to regulate and restrict the functioning of YouTube to ensure conformity with Indian laws, social norms, and religious restrictions, despite the fundamental rights conferred.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice D. Krishnakumar and Justice P.B. Balaji has scheduled further hearings of the PIL filed by advocate V. Parthiban for four weeks.

The petitioner contends that media trials conducted on YouTube undermine investigations and decisions when matters are sub judice. He argues that such media trials, which are freely posted and commented on the social media site, evade legal scrutiny as YouTube disclaims responsibility for any content posted by users, despite benefiting from it.

Additionally, he noted that innocent individuals are being judged by the public, who post abusive comments and troll them.

The petitioner further emphasized that it is imperative to regulate and restrict the YouTube platform to ensure compliance with the laws of the country by developing a mechanism to control content from its inception.

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