The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that the Motion Pictures Ordinance of 1979 does not apply to Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Prime Video. The court dismissed multiple petitions from cinema operators seeking to extend these censorship laws to digital streaming services.
Justice Raheel Kamran Sheikh, in a detailed 20-page judgment, stated that these platforms operate differently from traditional cinemas, making it impractical and legally untenable to enforce pre-censorship on the vast and continuously updated content on OTT platforms. The judge noted that the ordinance, designed in the pre-digital era, was specifically enacted to regulate content exhibited through cinematographs in public venues like cinemas.
The petitions, filed by entities including NC Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., argued that it was discriminatory and a violation of their fundamental rights to require cinemas to obtain film certifications while leaving digital platforms unregulated. They contended that the principles of censorship should apply uniformly across all platforms to maintain social norms of decency and morality.
However, legal representatives for the federal and Punjab governments, along with the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), opposed the petitions. They argued that the term “cinematograph” should be construed in the context of the ordinance and that OTT platforms were not covered by it. They also highlighted that post the 18th constitutional amendment, the responsibility of cinematograph censorship has devolved to the provinces.
Justice Kamran observed that OTT platforms, which deliver content globally directly to personal devices, fall outside the regulation framework intended for public exhibition in cinemas. He emphasized that extending the ordinance to digital content platforms would amount to judicial legislation, which is beyond the court’s domain. The judge further dismissed the contention that importing digital content is exempt from compliance with domestic laws once it is publicly exhibited in Pakistan.
In conclusion, Justice Kamran declared the petitions non-maintainable both legally and practically, underscoring the fundamental differences between cinemas and digital streaming services under the constitution.
