The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, operating under the central government, has taken a stringent stance against 18 Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms for disseminating 'obscene and vulgar' as well as pornographic content, despite repeated warnings.
In line with this action, 19 websites, 10 apps, and 57 social media accounts linked to these platforms have also been barred from public access within India.
The OTT platforms incurred the ban due to prima facie breaches of Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act, Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting elaborated on the rationale behind this prohibition, highlighting that a substantial portion of the hosted content was found to be not only obscene and vulgar but also demeaning towards women.
This content portrayed nudity and sexual acts in inappropriate contexts, such as relationships between teachers and students, and incestuous family relationships, among others.
Additionally, it included sexual innuendos and prolonged segments of pornographic and sexually explicit scenes devoid of any thematic or societal relevance.
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