18 OTT Platforms Posting Vulgar And Obscene Content Blocked In India

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting under the central government has banned 18 OTT platforms.

Yes, you have read it right! Platforms like Uncut Adda, Dreams Films and Prime Play and many others have been banned for hosting ‘obscene and vulgar’ and even pornographic content despite repeated warnings. This move comes after Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur reiterated the responsibility of these platforms to refrain from promoting obscenity and abuse under the guise of creative expression.

As per information from the PIB, the action, first announced by Thakur on March 12, has resulted in the disabling of 19 websites, 10 apps (seven on Google Play store and three on the App Store), and 57 associated social media accounts in India. This decision was executed under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, following consultations with relevant Ministries/Departments of the Government of India and domain experts in media, entertainment, women’s rights, and child rights.

List of platforms that have been blocked

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.

Notably, one of the OTT apps had garnered over 1 crore downloads, while two others had more than 50 lakh downloads on the Google Play Store. These platforms extensively utilised social media for promotion, with a cumulative followership of over 32 lakh users across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.

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.

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