New Delhi: The government on Thursday banned as many as 18 OTT platforms for streaming obscene, vulgar and in some cases pornographic content.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) banned a total of 19 websites, 10 Apps (seven on Google Play Store and three on Apple App Store) and 57 social media accounts associated with these platforms have been disabled for public access in India as per an official statement from the Ministry Of Information and Broadcasting (I&B).
All About About The Ban
- Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur has repeatedly emphasised the responsibility of the platforms to not propagate obscenity, vulgarity, and abuse under the guise of creative expression.
- Thakur declared on March 12 that, by the release, 18 OTT platforms that were disseminating pornographic and obscene information had been removed.
- The current decision, he continued, was made by the Information and Technology Act, of 2000, after consulting with the other Indian government ministries and subject matter experts in the fields of media and entertainment, women’s rights, and children’s rights.
- The statement also added that a significant portion of the content hosted on these platforms was found to be obscene, and vulgar and portrayed women in a demeaning manner. It depicted nudity and sexual acts in various inappropriate contexts such as student and teacher relationships, and incestuous family relationships. The content included sexual innuendos and in some cases prolonged segments of pornographic and sexually explicit scenes devoid of any thematic or societal relevance.
- The announcement stated that the content was found to be Prima Facie in violation of Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition Act), 1986, Sections 67 and 67A of the IT Act, and Section 292 of the IPC.
- In the Google Play store, several OTT apps have received over 50 lakh downloads, while one app has received over one crore downloads. These over-the-top platforms make considerable use of social media to share teasers, selected scenes, and outside links to draw users to their websites and applications.
- According to the statement, the OTT platforms in question have over 32 lakh users across their social media accounts.
- Through meetings, webinars, workshops, and other events, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry regularly carries out awareness campaigns with OTT platforms and their self-regulatory organizations that were established under the IT rules, 2021.
- The Indian government is still dedicated to supporting the expansion and advancement of the over-the-top (OTT) sector. In this regard, several initiatives have been launched, such as the first-ever OTT award for web series at the 54th International Film Festival of India, partnerships with OTT platforms in the media and entertainment industry, and the creation of a loosely regulated framework under the IT Rules, 2021 that prioritizes self-regulation.
