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India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced the action on March 14, 2024, following a public warning by then minister Anurag Thakur on March 12. The government said it had disabled 18 OTT platforms, along with 19 associated websites, 10 mobile apps and 57 social-media accounts, for public access in India. This was a targeted action—not a blanket ban on OTT streaming services.
The Ministry described the material as obscene, vulgar and, in some cases, pornographic. Those descriptions and the alleged legal violations were the government’s assessment; the press release did not constitute a court judgment or claim that the services had been permanently shut down worldwide.
What the Centre blocked
The figures referred to different categories of online properties:
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| Category | Number | Details in the government release |
|---|---|---|
| OTT platforms | 18 | Named individually below |
| Associated websites | 19 | The accessible release gave the count, but not a complete public URL list |
| Mobile apps | 10 | Seven on Google Play Store and three on Apple’s App Store |
| Social-media accounts | 57 | Facebook 12, Instagram 17, X 16 and YouTube 12 |
The official wording was that these services and accounts were “disabled for public access in India.” That is narrower than saying every company was dissolved or that its content became inaccessible everywhere.
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The 18 OTT platforms named by the government
The Ministry’s list was:
- 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
- Prime Play
The March 14 government release listing the platforms does not provide a corresponding public list of all 19 website URLs, all 10 app links or all 57 social-account URLs.
Why did the Ministry take action?
According to the Ministry, a significant portion of the content on the services was obscene or vulgar. It referred to nudity, sexual acts and sexually explicit scenes, including depictions involving teacher-student and incestuous family relationships. It also said some material portrayed women in a demeaning way.
The government said the material was prima facie in violation of:
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- Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, concerning electronic publication or transmission of obscene material;
- Section 67A of the IT Act, concerning material containing sexually explicit acts or conduct;
- Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code, the obscenity provision cited in the release at the time; and
- Section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.
“Prima facie” means the Ministry said the material appeared to meet the threshold on an initial assessment. It should not be read as a conviction, a final judicial finding against every platform or proof that each title on every service was unlawful.
The Ministry said it had consulted other government departments and experts in media and entertainment, women’s rights and child rights. It also referred to multiple warnings from the minister and to earlier meetings, webinars and workshops with OTT publishers and their self-regulatory bodies.
How the IT Rules fit into the announcement
The Ministry linked its engagement with online-curated-content publishers to Part III of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. That framework provides a grievance process and self-regulatory structure for digital-media publishers, which the Ministry described as “light touch.”
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These are separate concepts:
- Substantive offences: laws such as IT Act Sections 67 and 67A define prohibited electronic content.
- Digital-media compliance: the 2021 Rules set duties and grievance or self-regulatory mechanisms for publishers.
- Access restriction: disabling a website, app or account is the operational step that prevents ordinary public access in India.
The press note says the decision was taken under provisions of the IT Act, but it does not set out the underlying order or clearly state in its text that this particular action was issued under Section 69A. The precise procedural chain therefore should not be inferred from the announcement alone.
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What does “disabled for public access in India” mean?
In practical terms, the announcement concerned access by users in India. It does not necessarily mean that a company ceased to exist globally, that every domain or mirror disappeared, or that offline copies were eliminated.
Website or network blocking, removal from an app store and disabling a social-media account are different measures. A service may still appear in cached references or be visible outside India even when ordinary Indian access is restricted. The release also made no promise that the restrictions were permanent.
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How large was the alleged audience?
The Ministry reported that one of the apps had more than 1 crore Google Play Store downloads, while two others had more than 50 lakh downloads each. It also said the associated social-media accounts had a combined following of more than 32 lakh users.
These were figures supplied by the Ministry, not independently audited audience measurements.
Was this a ban on all OTT platforms?
No. The action named 18 services and associated websites, apps and accounts. It did not prohibit mainstream OTT services as a category. In the same release, the Ministry said it remained committed to developing India’s OTT sector and highlighted cooperation with platforms, self-regulation under the 2021 Rules and an OTT award at the 54th International Film Festival of India.
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Blocking an entire service is also broader than removing one programme or episode. The announcement did not publish platform-by-platform evidence or explain why a service-wide restriction was selected in each case.
What happened later?
In a separate statement issued in July 2026, the Ministry said 50 OTT platforms had been disabled over the preceding two years for displaying obscene content and violating applicable laws. That is a later cumulative figure and should not be combined with the 18-platform action announced in March 2024.
Legal and constitutional context
India’s blocking framework has been debated in constitutional litigation. The Supreme Court upheld Section 69A of the IT Act and its safeguards in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India. That background does not, by itself, establish that the March 2024 action was either upheld or invalidated by a court. Questions about transparency, procedural safeguards, proportionality and freedom of expression can still arise when access to an entire service is restricted.
For context on the announcement, see the Ministry’s March 14, 2024 press release. The later figure is in the Ministry’s July 2026 statement.
The Bottom Line
The March 2024 action was a targeted restriction on 18 named OTT platforms and associated online properties, not a permanent worldwide shutdown of 18 companies or a ban on OTT entertainment in India. The Ministry alleged prima facie violations of existing obscenity and indecency laws; the accessible announcement did not disclose every URL or the complete blocking procedure.
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