Indian Government Takes Action Against OTT Platforms for Obscene Content

On Thursday, the government took action to block 18 OTT platforms due to their dissemination of obscene and pornographic content, despite receiving multiple warnings. Additionally, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) announced the disabling of 19 websites, 10 apps (7 on Google Play Store, 3 on Apple App Store), and 57 associated social media accounts.

This decision was made despite previous warnings urging these platforms not to promote obscenity, vulgarity, and abuse under the guise of “creative expression.” The government cited provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, as the basis for this action.