GUWAHATI: The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) has taken decisive action against 18 over-the-top (OTT) platforms for disseminating obscene, vulgar, and pornographic content.
19 websites, 10 apps (7 on Google Play Store, 3 on Apple App Store), and 57 associated social media accounts have been disabled for public access in India.
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Union Minister for I&B, Anurag Singh Thakur, has reiterated the platforms' responsibility to refrain from promoting obscenity and vulgarity under the guise of creative expression. On March 12, 2024, Thakur announced the shutdown of 18 OTT platforms known for publishing objectionable content.
This decision, made under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, was formulated in consultation with other Ministries/Departments of the Government of India, as well as domain experts specialising in media and entertainment, women's rights, and child rights. The list of OTT platforms includes names like Dreams Films, Voovi, Yessma, Uncut Adda, Tri Flicks, X Prime, Neon X VIP, Besharams, Hunters, Rabbit, Xtramood, Nuefliks, MoodX, Mojflix, Hot Shots VIP, Fugi, Chikooflix, and Prime Play.
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The content hosted on these platforms was found to be demeaning towards women, often portraying nudity, sexual acts, and explicit scenes in inappropriate contexts. The Ministry determined that this content violated Section 67 and 67A of the IT Act, Section 292 of the IPC, and Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.
Some of the OTT apps had garnered significant viewership, with one amassing over 1 crore downloads and two others exceeding 50 lakh downloads on the Google Play Store. Additionally, these platforms extensively utilised social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to attract audiences to their content.