Ministry of Information and Broadcasting bans 18 OTT Apps for Hosting 'Vulgar' Content

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Thursday blocked 18 OTT apps for sharing "obscene," "vulgar," and sometimes "pornographic" content. In addition, as many as 19 websites, 10 apps that include 7 on Google Play Store and 3 on Apple App Store, and 57 social media accounts linked to these platforms are no longer accessible to the general public in India.

"A significant portion of the content hosted on these platforms was found to be obscene, vulgar, and portrayed women in a demeaning manner. It depicted nudity and sexual acts in various inappropriate contexts, such as relationships between teachers and students, incestuous family relationships, etc. The content included sexual innuendos and, in some instances, prolonged segments of pornographic and sexually explicit scenes devoid of any thematic or societal relevance," reads the statement issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The official statement also states that the decision to block these platforms has been taken in adherence to the provisions of the Information Technology Act, of 2000. These platforms have been banned after consulting with other ministries of the Government of India and experts hailing from the fields of entertainment, women's rights, and child rights. The Government has decided to block these platforms in a bid to regulate content on digital platforms and ensure that they adhere to certain standards of decency and morality.

According to the release the content on these platforms violated certain sections of the IT Act and other related laws. One of the OTT apps had over 1 crore downloads, while two others had more than 50 lakh downloads on the Google Play Store. These platforms also heavily used social media to promote their content, reaching a combined total of over 32 lakh followers.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has restricted access to various social media accounts, including 12 Facebook accounts, 17 Instagram accounts, 16 X (formerly Twitter) accounts, and 12 YouTube accounts. The 18 OTT platforms that have been banned are 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.​