Government Crackdown on Obscene Content
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has taken action to restrict access to 18 OTT platforms due to allegations of disseminating obscene and inappropriate content. Additionally, 19 websites, 10 applications, and 57 social media accounts linked with these platforms have been blocked across the nation.
In collaboration with various intermediaries, the Ministry has initiated this action against the platforms for infringing upon the Information Technology Act, Indian Penal Code, and Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act. The Ministry stated that out of the blocked apps, seven were hosted on Google Play Store and three on the Apple App Store.
The Ministry noted that Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Anurag Singh Thakur, has consistently stressed the responsibility of platforms to refrain from promoting obscenity, vulgarity, and abuse under the guise of ‘creative expression’. On March 12, 2024, Mr. Thakur announced the takedown of 18 OTT platforms accused of disseminating obscene and vulgar content.
OTT Platforms Under Fire: Obscene Content and Massive Downloads
The list of blocked OTT platforms includes 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. The Ministry stated that a significant portion of the content hosted on these platforms was discovered to be obscene, vulgar, and presented women in a derogatory manner.
According to the Ministry, the content depicted nudity and sexual acts in various inappropriate contexts, such as relationships between teachers and students, incestuous family relationships, among others. It included sexual innuendos and, in some cases, prolonged segments of pornographic and sexually explicit scenes lacking any thematic or societal relevance.
One of the OTT apps had garnered over 10 million downloads, while two others had accumulated over 5 million downloads on the Google Play Store. Additionally, these OTT platforms extensively utilized social media platforms to distribute trailers, specific scenes, and external links with the intent of attracting audiences to their websites and apps. The social media accounts associated with these platforms had a combined following of more than 3.2 million users. Specifically, there were accounts on Facebook (12), Instagram (17), Twitter (16), and YouTube (12).
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