New Delhi, Nov. 28 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday emphasised the need for an "effective" mechanism to regulate user-generated content and a stronger, independent oversight body, directing the Centre to draft guidelines within four weeks after public consultations. The court said regulations are not meant to "throttle" anyone but to create a "sieve," noting the legal gap that provides no accountability for content uploaded on online platforms. "This is something very strange that I create my own platform and channel but there is no accountability. There must be a sense of responsibility attached to such content," said a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and justice Joymalya Bagchi. The case arose from podcaster Ranveer Gautam Allahbadia's petition seeking protection from multiple cases over his vulgar remarks on India's Got Latent, a podcast. The court had in March asked the Centre to provide guidelines to regulate such obscene, undignified speech. Attorney general R Venkataramani presented a ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) note suggesting changes to the Code of Ethics under the Information Technology Rules, 2021, incorporating separate guidelines on obscenity, accessibility for online curated content, and AI and Deepfakes. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta said the government recognises the need to act on user-generated content. "Freedom of speech is a valuable right but it cannot lead to perversity and obscenity. Today young boys and girls have easy access to technology." The court noted online platforms present their own challenge. "Difficulty we find is the timing. By the time the platform and takedown is ordered after 48 or 72 hours, it becomes viral. So how to plug that gap." The bench said, "We must have a preventive mechanism to ensure there is no misinformation, loss of lives or property," directing that any proposal be put in the public domain for consultation first. The case reopens the fundamental tension in content moderation, with both tech companies and authorities being unable to adequately prevent abuse. Senior advocate Amit Sibal, appearing for Indian Broadcast and Digital Foundation (comprising OTT platforms), raised concerns. "While seeking to regulate user-generated content, they propose guidelines on digital content." He said the 2021 IT Rules on Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code is under challenge before the Delhi HC, with two crucial provisions-Rule 9(1) (Adherence to Code of Ethics) and Rule 9(3) (Three Level Grievance Redressal Mechanism)-stayed by the Bombay High Court....