NEW DELHI, 14th March, 2024 (WAM) – India has stepped up action against streaming services that publish obscene and vulgar content, Asian News International (ANI) reported on Thursday.
Indian Minister for Information & Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur has emphasised the responsibility of the streaming platforms for not propagating obscenity, vulgarity and abuse under the guise of 'creative expression'. On 12th March, Thakur announced in a statement that 18 over-the-top (OTT) platforms publishing obscene and vulgar content had been taken down.
The statement further added that the recent decision was taken under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, in consultation with other ministries of the Government of India, and domain experts specialising in media and entertainment, women's rights, and child rights.
One of the OTT apps amassed more than 10 million downloads, while two others had over 5 million downloads on the Google Play Store. Additionally, these OTT platforms extensively utilise social media to disseminate trailers, specific scenes, and external links aimed at attracting audiences to their websites and apps. The social media accounts of the concerned OTT platforms had a cumulative followership of over 3.2 million users, the statement said.
The Ministry of I&B consistently conducts sensitization efforts with OTT platforms and their self-regulatory bodies established under the IT Rules, 2021 through meetings, webinars, workshops, etc., the statement added.