The IT ministry is expected to brief the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology by next week on whether laws need to be amended to regulate speech on social media platforms. The parliamentary panel had asked the ministry for a response following the controversy over a sexually explicit joke made by podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia on Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent show.

According to the Indian Express, the ministry’s response will elaborate on the current legal framework on regulating online speech, and whether further changes are required to “bring such platform under legal scrutiny so as to safeguard the societal values and protect the dignity of women and children.” The newspaper also states that in internal communications prepared by the ministry, it has referenced the now-revoked Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, which was struck down as “unconstitutional” by the Supreme Court.

The controversy erupted last Monday, after a clip of Allahbadia’s remarks went viral on social media. Multiple FIRs have been filed against Allahbadia, Raina and others across various states, and YouTube took down the India’s Got Latent episode where the remarks were made. Subsequently, Raina has taken down the rest of the episodes of the show.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court granted Allahbadia interim relief from arrest, but also criticised the comments he made on the show. “The words you have chosen, parents will feel ashamed,” the Bench stated, according to legal news website Bar and Bench. “The entire society will be ashamed. These are the levels of depravity you and your henchmen have gone to. Rule of law and system has to be followed. He should be ashamed as to what he has done to his parents.”

Last year, the Union government had pushed for the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, which proposed to bring online creators under the ambit of a consolidated legal framework for the broadcasting sector. It withdrew the bill last August after opposition by press and civil society organisations who alleged that it impinged on free speech online.

Over the past week, many media commentators and digital rights activists have warned that the government might respond to the current controversy with heavy-handed regulation, further stifling free speech and expression in the country.