Centre cracks down against OTT platforms for vulgar content

New Delhi: The Indian Government announced on Thursday that it has taken measures to block 18 Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms and associated social media accounts due to their dissemination of obscene, vulgar, and in some cases, pornographic content.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting released a statement detailing that 18 OTT platforms, 19 websites, 10 applications (seven from Google Play Store and three from Apple App Store), and 57 related social media accounts have been made inaccessible to the Indian public.

Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, underscored the obligation of these platforms to refrain from spreading obscenity, vulgarity, and abuse under the pretence of ‘creative expression’.

The action against the OTT platforms was undertaken in accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000. The decision was made in collaboration with other government ministries/departments and domain experts specialising in media and entertainment, women’s rights, and child rights, as per the statement.