18 OTT platforms blocked for obscene content

The government on Thursday blocked 18 OTT platforms for obscene and pornographic content despite multiple warnings. Nineteen websites, 10 apps (7 on Google Play Store, 3 on Apple App Store), and 57 social media accounts associated with these platforms have also been disabled, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) said in a statement.

The development comes despite the platforms being warned not to promote obscenity, vulgarity and abuse under the guise of "creative expression". The decision was taken under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

The OTT platforms that have been blocked 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.

In its statement, the government said a major chunk of the content on the platforms 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 statement said.

"The content included sexual innuendos and, in some instances, prolonged segments of pornographic and sexually explicit scenes devoid of any thematic or societal relevance," it further said to justify the blocking of the platforms.

The government said one of the OTT apps had more than 1 crore downloads, while two others had over 50 lakh downloads. Moreover, the social media accounts of the OTT platforms had a cumulative followership of over 32 lakh users.

"These OTT platforms extensively utilised social media to disseminate trailers, specific scenes, and external links aimed at attracting audiences to their websites and apps," the government said.