Which apps have been banned?
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The list of mobile applications (apps) and platforms banned in India on Thursday includes Dreams Films, Voovi, Yessma, Uncut Adda, Tri Flicks, X Prime, Neon X VIP, Besharams, Hunters, Rabbit, Xtramood, Nuefliks, MoodX, Mojflix, Hot Shots VIP, Fugi, Chikooflix and Prime Play, among others.
Also restricted were 19 websites, 10 applications (seven on Google Play Store, three on Apple App Store), and 57 social media accounts linked to these platforms.
Why were these platforms banned?
A significant portion of the content hosted on these platforms was found to be obscene and vulgar and portrayed women in a demeaning way. “It depicted nudity and sexual acts in various inappropriate contexts, such as relationships between teachers and students, incestuous family relationships, etc.,” the government said in a release.
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According to the government, the decision to ban these OTT platforms was made under the provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, in consultation with other ministries/departments of the government, as well as domain experts specialising in media and entertainment, women’s and child rights.What does this legislation state?
OTT is regulated by the Information Technology (IT) Act of 2000. Section 67 of the Act prohibits the sharing or publishing of any material in electronic form that is obscene or sexually explicit.
The law also prohibits the sharing of materials depicting children in sexually explicit acts and punishes those involved in such activities. It also addresses privacy invasion, punishing individuals who capture, publish or transmit images of a person’s private area without their consent.
The government has previously taken steps to curb access to explicit material on digital platforms. On October 6 last year, the IT ministry sent notices to social media platforms X, YouTube, and Telegram, asking them to permanently remove obscene content from their platforms.
According to the guidelines of the Information Technology Rules of 2021, significant social media intermediaries are required to use technology-based measures, including automated tools, to not only block obscene, pornographic and paedophilic content but also to proactively identify any content depicting rape or child sexual abuse in any form.
Also read | 18 OTT apps blocked for vulgar content: Here is the complete list of apps and websites blocked
What are the other platforms banned by the government?
In February this year, the government ordered blocking of 138 betting and gambling apps and 94 quick loan-providing apps over concerns of improper data storage and transfer to other countries, as well as suspected money laundering.
In February 2022, the government had issued new orders to ban more than 54 Chinese apps, terming them as threats to the privacy and security of Indian users. These apps included those from major Chinese tech companies like Tencent, Alibaba and gaming firm NetEase, and are described as “rebranded or renamed versions” of apps previously banned in India since 2020.
The government had banned TikTok and several other Chinese apps and games nationwide in 2020 due to privacy and security concerns following a border clash with China.
