No Storyline, Only Vulgarity: MIB Advisor Kanchan Gupta's Hard Take On Content Streaming On Ullu, ALTT And Other Banned Apps, Websites

In a bid to crack down on unlawful and obscene content, the government has directed Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to disable public access to 26 websites and 14 OTT platforms, including big and popular names like Ullu, ALTT, Boomex, Besharams and Desiflix.

A notification issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) emphasised that the intermediaries are responsible for removing or disabling access to unlawful information under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

Also read: Govt Bans Ullu, Altt and Other Apps for Showing Objectionable Content

Senior Advisor, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, Kanchan Gupta, while speaking to Republic explained how these now-banned apps and websites hosted content that had "hardly any storyline or scenes" and depicted only "vulgarity".

‘No stroryline, only vulgarity’

"Just to put things into perspective, the MIB has acted against 26 websites and 14 apps that were found to be hosting, broadcasting, distributing, amplifying content of a certain nature which is not allowed under the law in India. 9 of the apps were available on Google Play Store and 5 on Apple Store. This act cuts across app hosting companies and platforms," Gupta said.

"The content includes sexual innuendos, long portions of sexually explicit scenes involving nudity thereby qualifying as pornographic content. There was hardly any storyline or scenes, only vulgarity. There are guidelines being worked on," he added.

According to the ministry representative, while immediate shutdown of these apps has been ordered, the government is working on more defined guidelines regarding the streaming of online content. "Right now what we are looking at is the nature of the content on these websites and apps. The depiction of nudity and sex and several inappropriate content including family relationships, these are prohibited under the law," Gupta shared on the matter.

Government acts on the behest of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had flagged ULLU and ALTT in July–August 2024, based on multiple public grievances about the kind of content being hosted on these sites and apps. Despite this, most of the platforms continued to stream objectionable content.

On this, Kanchan Gupta, said, "When you talk about the reason why we acted, there was a reference which was repeat from National Commission For Protection Of Child Rights in July and August 2024 regarding Ullu and ALTT and subsequently there was an investigation and there was a proper mechanism that looked into and concluded that this content cannot be hosted on a public website or the app. This was relayed to the intermediaries that such content has to be taken down."