In a decisive move, the central government has once again initiated a digital strike, imposing bans on 18 OTT apps, 19 websites, and 10 apps, including 57 social media accounts. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued several warnings to these platforms for breaching the regulations of the Information Technology Act. These platforms have been found in violation of the provisions of the Information Technology Act on multiple occasions.
According to the ministry, these OTT platforms have been displaying explicit content, leading to their removal from both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Central Minister Anurag Thakur has issued numerous notices to these 18 OTT platforms, urging them to remove inappropriate content promptly.
Among the banned OTT apps are Dreams Films, Vuvy, Yesma, Ankat Adda, Trafficlix, X Prime, and Neon Primeplay.
In addition to these 18 OTT apps, the government has also imposed bans on 19 websites and 10 apps. Seven of these apps have been removed from the Google Play Store, while three have been taken down from the Apple App Store. Furthermore, action has been taken against 57 social media accounts found to contain explicit content.
The Indian government has recently banned a number of OTT platforms, apps, and websites for displaying obscene and vulgar content. Here is the list of the 18 OTT apps that have been banned:
Dreams Films
Voovi
YessmaUncut AddaTri FlicksX PrimeNeon X VIPBesharamsHuntersRabbitXtramood
NuefliksMoodXMojflixHot Shots VIPFugiChikooflixPrime Play1
Additionally, 19 websites and 10 apps (7 on Google Play Store, 3 on Apple App Store) have been blocked, along with 57 social media accounts associated with these platforms2. The action was taken under the Information Technology Act, 2000, after consultation with relevant government departments and domain experts12.Please note that the specific list of the 19 websites is not provided in the search results. For more detailed information, you may refer to the official announcements or legal notices from the government authorities.
The government asserts that these bans are enforced under Section 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act 2000, Section 292 of the IPC, and Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986.
Social networks have also faced repercussions, with certain accounts being blocked.
One of the banned apps has exceeded 100 million downloads on the Google Play Store, while two others have been downloaded more than 50,000 times. These apps were streaming explicit movie trailers on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube. A total of 57 accounts on social networks have been blocked. Additionally, 12 Facebook, 17 Instagram, 16 X, and 12 YouTube channels featuring such content have been blocked.
