ministry-of-i-b-takes-firm-action-against-obscene-content-on-ott-platforms

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has taken action in coordination with various intermediaries, to block 18 OTT platforms publishing obscene, vulgar, and in some cases, pornographic content.

 

Around 19 websites, 10 apps; 7 on google play store, 3 on apple app store and 57 social media accounts associated with these platforms have been disabled for public access in India.

 

Union minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur repeatedly emphasized the responsibility of the platforms to not propagate obscenity, vulgarity and abuse under the guise of “creative expression”.

 

On March 12, the minister announced that 18 OTT platforms publishing obscene and vulgar content had been taken down, the release stated.

 

“A significant portion of the content based on these platforms was found to be obscene, vulgar and portrayed women in a very demeaning manner. It depicted nudity and sexual acts in various inappropriate contexts, such as relationships between teachers and students, incestuous family relationships, etc. The content included sexual innuendos and in some instances, prolonged segments of pornographic and sexually explicit scenes devoid of any thematic or societal relevance”, the statement added.

 

“The content was determined to be prima facie 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.

 

The statements further stated that “The Ministry of I&B consistently conducts sensitization efforts with OTT Platforms and their self-regulatory bodies established under the IT Rules, 2021 through meetings, webinars, workshops, etc”

 

One of the OTT apps amassed more than 1 crore downloads, while two others had over 50 lakh downloads on the play store, additionally, these platforms extensively utilize social media to disseminate trailers, specific scenes and eternal links aimed at attracting audiences to their websites and apps. The social media accounts of these concerned OTT platforms had a cumulative followership of over 32 lakh users, it stated.