Govt cracks down on 18 streaming platforms for 'obscene content': List out

The Centre said that the content published on these platforms were found to violate the various sections of the IT Act, the Indian Penal Code and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act

The Centre on Thursday launched a major crackdown on as many as 18 'over-the-top' (OTT) streaming platforms, banning them for publishing "obscene, vulgar, and, in some instances, pornographic content."

In an official press release, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) said that 19 websites, 10 apps, and 57 social media accounts associated with these platforms have been disabled for public access in India. Of the 10 banned applications, seven were available on the Google Play Store and three on the Apple App Store.

"The recent decision was taken under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 in consultation with other Ministries/Departments of the Government of India, and domain experts specialising in media and entertainment, women's rights, and child rights," the release said.

The list of banned OTT platforms:

1) Dreams Films

2) Voovi

3) Yessma

4) Uncut Adda

5) Tri Flicks

6) X Prime

7) Neon X VIP

8) Besharams

9) Hunters

10) Rabbit

11) Xtramood

12) Nuefliks

13) MoodX

14) Mojflix

15) Hot Shots VIP

16) Fugi

17) Chikooflix

18) Prime Play

The Centre said that the content hosted on these platforms was found to be "obscene, vulgar, and portrayed women in a demeaning manner." 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 added.

Broadcasting such content is in violation of Section 67 and 67A of the IT Act, Section 292 of the IPC, and Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, the release said.

Of the banned OTT platforms, one had about 10 million downloads and two others had nearly 5 million downloads each on the Google Play Store. "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 social media accounts of the concerned OTT platforms had a cumulative followership of over 3 million users."