The Government of India has banned 18 OTT platforms for publishing and distributing vulgar, obscene, and adult-rated media. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has taken action against 19 websites, 10 applications, and 57 social media handles of these platforms for violating the IT Act.
The respective apps have also been ordered to be removed from the Google Play and Apple App Store.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur had previously warned about certain OTT platforms that contain vulgar and nude content disguised as creative media. Such content violates the Indian IT Act of 2000, which has specific sections that protect women’s and children’s rights in the media and entertainment industry.
The list of 18 banned apps contains
Dreams Films, Voovi, Yessma, Uncut Adda, Tri Flicks, X Prime, Neon X VIP, Besharams, Hunters, Rabbit, Xtramood, Nuefliks, MoodX, Mojflix, Hot SHorts VIP, Fugi, Chikooflix, and Prime Play.
Many apps had over 50 lakh downloads on the Google Play Store, with one particular app having over one crore downloads. These apps also used their social media handles on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube to redirect users to explicit media content using external links.
According to the ministry’s notification, these platforms’ cumulative social media reach was around 32 lakhs.
In addition to banning these platforms, the social media handles of these services have also been blocked under the same regulations. The Supreme Court of India also stated in a 2015 ruling that the sharing and distribution of adult media is prohibited in the country.
In September 2022, the Government of India had banned 63 adult-content websites. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) also ordered all internet service providers (ISPs) across India to block access to these sites. The reason for the ban was the same, where these portals published obscene and indecent media.
Till today, the GoI has banned over 1000 websites, apps, and services related to adult media. The latest move of blocking 18 additional apps further reflects that the government is strictly enforcing laws related to the distribution of inappropriate media.
