Government Disables 50 OTT Platforms Over Two Years for Obscene Content

The government has disabled 50 over-the-top (OTT) platforms from public access in India over the last two years for displaying obscene content and violating provisions of the Information Technology Act and other statutes, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. In a written response to member Sambit Patra, Vaishnaw specified that the platforms were taken down for breaching Sections 67 and 67A of the IT Act, Section 294 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act (The Hindu).

The disclosure came during a session where the government also outlined the broader regulatory architecture governing digital intermediaries. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan, replying to a separate query from Lok Sabha member Rajabhau Parag Prakash Waje, noted that the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules have been notified to establish an institutional mechanism for publishers of news and current affairs content as well as OTT platforms (The Hindu). Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act empowers the government to direct intermediaries to remove or disable access to unlawful material.

Vaishnaw further detailed recent amendments to the IT Rules that mandate social media platforms and other intermediaries to take down unlawful content within three hours of receiving a court order or a reasoned intimation from the government or its authorised agency. He cited the Digital Personal Data Protection Act as the framework regulating the processing of digital personal data and safeguarding children’s privacy online, while the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act addresses concerns regarding digital addiction and financial harm among youth (The Hindu).

Referencing the Economic Survey 2025-26, the minister characterised digital addiction as a serious public health challenge affecting India’s children and youth, particularly those aged 15 to 29. To counter these risks, the government is implementing the Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA) project, which has conducted 6,650 workshops across the country covering over 11.37 lakh participants. Multilingual handbooks, short videos, posters, brochures, and cartoon stories for children have also been published and disseminated. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) regularly shares safety tips, awareness posters, infographics, and videos on its official channels to sensitise internet users on cyber security attacks, fraud, and online safety measures for children. In July 2020, the Education Ministry issued the PRAGYATA Guidelines on Digital Education, providing a framework for safe and effective online learning, including the promotion of students’ well-being and responsible use of social media and electronic devices, with contributions from the CBSE and NCERT (The Hindu).