Obscene Content Spoils Minds Of Children, Must Be Removed Immediately: Madras High Court Directs Takedown Of ‘Bad Girl’ Teaser From YouTube

The petition was filed by three individuals seeking court directions to MeitY to instruct Google to take down the teaser from all its platforms, including YouTube. They also requested that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the National Commission for Women (NCW) be directed to take necessary legal action.

A Bench of Justice P. Dhanabal, after reviewing the teaser held, “The pictures hosted in the YouTube can be accessed by anybody and there are no restriction to the children to access and to see the said pictures. If the children see the said contents of the videos, certainly it will spoil the mind of the children. It is the duty of the State to protect the children in all respect. It is the social responsibility of every citizen to protect the children. Without social responsibility, the said obscene pictures have been uploaded in the social media. Therefore, it cannot be allowed to continue. As long as it is in existence and visible to children, the number of victims may be increased. Therefore, it should be removed immediately.”

Advocates Anandhapadmanabhan appeared for the Petitioners and Deputy Solicitor General K.Govindarajan appeared for the Respondents.

The Court underscored the constitutional and social responsibility of both the State and the public to safeguard children from harmful exposure. It remarked that uploading such material online without accountability showed a lack of social responsibility and could potentially increase the number of child victims exposed to inappropriate content.

Though YouTube itself had not been named as a party in the case, the court clarified that it could not delay intervention given the seriousness of the matter. It stated that MeitY, being the competent authority under the Information Technology Act, could act on the issue and issue necessary directives to YouTube for the prompt removal of the offensive material.

The petitioners argued that the teaser was explicit and violated provisions under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology Act, and warranted urgent legal redress.

They further submitted that although complaints had been lodged with the authorities through online channels, no remedial action was taken.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology submitted that it had no record of receiving any prior representation. It assured the court that if a formal complaint were submitted, appropriate action would be taken as per law.

Google, while opposing the petition, contended that it had no direct role in the content being uploaded and stated that the petitioners should have impleaded YouTube as a necessary party to the case.

The Court concluded that the teaser was indeed problematic and must be taken down. The Court directed MeitY to notify YouTube and facilitate the removal of the video from the platform. It directed, “Therefore, this Court directs the first respondent to take appropriate action to remove the above said obscene contents and videos of the movie 'bad girl' hosted in the YouTube either at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y87Jp51PF-s or any other address within one month from the date of this order. The respondents 3 and 4 also look into the matter and monitor and to take appropriate steps in accordance with law to prevent any type of child pornography.”

Additionally, while the petitioners sought criminal action against those responsible for uploading the teaser, the Court noted that no specific details or evidence were provided in this regard. Therefore, the Court advised the petitioners to approach the appropriate law enforcement authorities for further action.

Cause Title: R.Ramkumar & Ors. v. The Union of India & Ors.

Appearance:

Petitioners: Advocates Anandhapadmanabhan and B.Lenin Balu for M/s.Agam Legal

Respondents: Deputy Solicitor General K.Govindarajan, Advocates M.Sakthi Kumar, G.Manoj Kumar