Govt bans 25 OTT platforms including ALTT, Ullu, Desiflix for obscene content

The government has reportedly directed Internet Service Providers (ISP) to disable public access to 25 OTT platforms including Ullu, ALLT and Desiflixn response to curb the unlawful and obscene content.

A notification issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) emphasised that the intermediaries are responsible for removing or disabling access to unlawful information under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

According to the notification, the ban is aimed to crack down the dissemination of content that is deemed sexually explicit and violative of Indian legal and cultural standards.

The 23 other banned apps reportedly include: Big Shots App, Boomex, Navarasa Lite, Gulab App, Kangan App, Bull App, Jalva App, Wow Entertainment, Look Entertainment, Hitprime, Feneo, ShowX, Sol Talkies, Adda TV, HotX VIP, Hulchul App, MoodX, NeonX VIP, Fugi, Mojflix, Triflicks.

In March, the ministry had also banned 19 websites, 10 apps and 57 social media handles of 18 OTT platforms for publishing obscene and vulgar content.

These have been found to violate multiple legal provisions, including Section 67 and Section 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000; Section 294 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; and Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.

The government has issued instructions to Internet Service Providers to block or restrict public access to these websites within India.

In April, the Supreme Court responded to a petition calling for a ban on sexually explicit content on OTT and social media.