The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) blocked 18 OTT platforms this year for publishing vulgar, obscene, and, in some cases, pornographic content.
As part of this effort, 19 websites, 10 mobile apps (7 on Google Play Store and 3 on Apple App Store), and 57 associated social media accounts were also being disabled.
Some apps had gained massive popularity, with one amassing over 1 crore downloads.
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) took strict action against 18 OTT platforms this year for publishing vulgar, obscene, and, in some cases, pornographic content. These platforms shared content that broke Indian laws, which led to their ban. As part of this effort, 19 websites, 10 mobile apps (7 on Google Play Store and 3 on Apple App Store), and 57 associated social media accounts were also being disabled to restrict public access in India.
Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur announced this action, emphasising that content creators cannot use ‘creative expression’ as a pretext to propagate abusive material.
The crackdown followed provisions under the Information Technology Act, 2000, with inputs from other Ministries/Departments of the Government of India, and domain experts specialising in media and entertainment, women’s rights, and child rights.
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Complete list of blocked OTT platforms
- 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
- Prime Play
Why were these platforms blocked?
The Ministry found the content hosted by these platforms to be excessively obscene, degrading to women, and, in many cases, outright pornographic. Scenes included inappropriate depictions of relationships, such as student-teacher affairs and incestuous family relationships. These type od content violates several laws, including:
- Section 67 and 67A of the IT Act
- Section 292 of the IPC
- Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986
Some apps on the list had gained massive popularity, with one amassing over 1 crore downloads and two others reaching 50 lakh downloads. They used platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter) to share trailers and links, drawing audiences to their content. Collectively, their social media accounts had over 32 lakh followers.
While the government encourages the growth of the OTT industry, it insists on responsible content. This decisive action shows the government’s commitment to maintaining ethical standards in the digital entertainment space.
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Ayushi Jain
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