The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has recently enforced the blocking of 18 OTT platforms due to the dissemination of obscene and vulgar material. Additionally, 19 websites, 10 apps, and 57 social media handles linked to these platforms have been restricted nationwide. This decisive action, carried out in collaboration with multiple intermediaries, is in response to breaches of the Information Technology Act, the Indian Penal Code, and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act. The Ministry noted that among the blocked apps, seven were hosted on Google Play Store, while three were on Apple App Store.
Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Singh Thakur, has emphasized the obligation of platforms to refrain from disseminating obscenity, vulgarity, and abuse under the guise of ‘constructive expression’. On March 12, 2024, Minister Thakur announced the removal of 18 OTT platforms that were found to be publishing obscene and pornographic content.
The banned OTT platforms include Dreams Films, Woovi, Yesma, Uncut Adda, Tri Flix, X Prime, and Neon Are. The ministry highlighted that a significant portion of the content hosted on these platforms was deemed obscene, vulgar, and portrayed women in a derogatory light.
According to the ministry, this content depicted nudity and sexual acts in inappropriate contexts, such as relationships between teachers and students, incestuous family dynamics, among others. The material often featured sexual innuendos and prolonged sequences of explicit scenes devoid of any thematic or social relevance.
One of the OTT apps had amassed over 10 million downloads on the Google Play Store, while two others had more than 5 million downloads each. Additionally, these platforms extensively utilized social media to promote trailers, exclusive scenes, and external links in an attempt to attract audiences to their websites and apps. In total, these platforms had over 3.2 million followers across various social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.