On Thursday 18 OTT platforms banned by government. Union I&B minister Anurag Thakur said that this is for publishing obscene, vulgar and instance pornography content after multiple warnings.
Additionally, 19 websites, 10 apps (7 on Google Play Store, three on Apple App Store), and 57 social media accounts associated with the OTT platforms have also been blocked nationwide. The ministry said that one of the OTT apps had more than one crore downloads on Google Play Store. Apart, other two OTT apps had over 50 lakh downloads on Google Play Store.
The ministry added the Social media accounts of these OTT platforms had a progressive followership of over 32 lakh users. Still, their content was found in violation of the Indian Penal Code, IT Act, and Women Indecent Representation (Prohibition) Act.
On 12 March, Mr Anurag Thakur announced to take down 18 OTT platforms publishing vulgar and obscene content. The statement further added that the decision to ban the platform was made under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000. This was in consultation with other government ministries of India and domain experts specializing in media and women’s rights, entertainment and child rights.
List of OTT platforms banned by Government
The banned platforms are:
- Voovi
- Yessma
- Uncut Adda
- Tri Flicks
- X Prime
- Neon X VIP
- Rabbit
- Hot Shots
- VIP
- Besharams
- Hunters
- Xtramood
- Nuefliks
- MoodX
- Mojflix
- Dreams Films
- Fugi
- Chikooflix
- Prime Play
I&B Minister’s statement on banning of platformsÂ
The statement says “A significant portion of the content hosted on these platforms was vulgar, obscene, and portrayed women in a demeaning manner. It depicted sexual and nudity acts in various inappropriate contexts. This includes relationships between students and teachers, incestuous family relationships, etc. The content included sexual innuendos and, in some instances, prolonged segments of sexually and pornographic direct scenes. Further, most of them were devoid of any thematic or societal relevance.”
These OTT platforms significantly make use of social media to circulate trailers, specific scenes, and external links. They aimed at attracting audiences to their apps and websites,” the government said.
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