The government is cracking down on ‘indecent’ content on 18 OTT platforms

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has taken action, in coordination with various intermediaries, to block 18 OTT platforms publishing “obscene”, “vulgar” and in some cases “pornographic content”. 19 websites, 10 apps (7 on Google Play Store and 3 on Apple App Store) and 57 social media accounts linked to these platforms have been disabled for public access in India, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in an official statement on Thursday .

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur has repeatedly emphasized the responsibility of platforms not to spread obscenity, vulgarity and abuse under the guise of “creative expression”. On March 12, Thakur announced that 18 OTT platforms publishing obscene and vulgar content had been taken down, the release said.

The statement further added that the recent decision was taken under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, after consultation with other Government of India ministries and experts in the field specializing in media and entertainment, women’s rights and children’s rights. .

“A significant amount of content hosted on these platforms was found to be obscene, vulgar and portraying women in a degrading manner. It depicted nudity and sexual acts in various inappropriate contexts, such as teacher-student relationships, incestuous family relationships, etc. The content included sexual innuendo and, in some cases, lengthy segments of pornographic and sexually explicit scenes devoid of any thematic or social relevance,” the statement added.

The content was determined to be prima facie in violation of Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act, Section 292 of the IPC and Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, the release said.

One of the OTT apps garnered more than 1 crore downloads, while two others had over 50 lakh downloads on the Google Play Store. Additionally, these OTT platforms make extensive use of social media to distribute trailers, specific scenes, and external links aimed at driving audiences to their websites and apps. The social media accounts of the respective OTT platforms have a cumulative following of over 32 lakh users, it said.

The I&B ministry has been consistently making efforts to create awareness with the OTT platforms and their self-regulatory bodies set up under the IT Rules, 2021 through meetings, webinars, workshops, etc., the statement said.

The Government of India remains committed to promoting the growth and development of the OTT industry. Several measures have been taken in this regard, including the introduction of the inaugural OTT Award for Web Series at the 54th International Film Festival of India, collaboration with OTT platforms in the media and entertainment sector, and the creation of a light regulatory framework with an emphasis on self-regulation under IT rules. 2021, the announcement said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated by a syndicated channel.)