What Government Aims To Achieve With Ban On Ullu, ALTT And Other OTT Platforms: 'Digital Decency' To Protection of Child Rights

The Indian government has banned over 20 over-the-top (OTT) platforms, including ALTT, Ullu and Desiflix for showcasing obscene, pornographic and sexually explicit content under the guise of web series. The action was taken in consultation with the MHA, MWCD, MeitY, Department of Legal Affairs (DoLA), industry bodies FICI and CII, and experts in the field of women's rights and child rights. However, by banning these platforms, what is the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) aiming to achieve?

Enforce Digital Decency Standards

According to a statement issued by MIB, these platforms showcased the content that included sexual innuendos and long portions of sexually explicit scenes in the guise of web series. They didn't have any storyline, theme or message and just featured pornographic and vulgar scenes, creating an imbalance in the world of OTT. So the government decided to enforce digital decency standards to create a safe environment for minors.

One of the suitable examples of the above point is the House Arrest controversy. A few weeks ago, Ullu's show, hosted by Bigg Boss 7 fame Ajaz Khan, was in the news for its obscene content. The host, among others, was booked by the Mumbai police over the same. A case was registered against them under Section 296, 3 (5) of BNS, Section 67 67 (A) of the Technology Act and Sections 4,6, and 7 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act. The show broke the rules of the Code of Ethics prescribed under the IT Rules, 2021, and laws related to obscenity in India. Hence, the Ullu App removed the show from the application.

Restricting Easy Access To Pornographic Content

YouTube and Netflix have child lock and separate screen viewing features for kids, but the ones banned by the government were easily accessible to kids below 18. They don't have any preventive measures, creating a hazardous environment for them in the digital arena. Such platforms not just influenced the minors but also negatively impacted their growth.

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.

Senior Advisor, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, said in this regard, "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."

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

Protect Minors At Risk

In the age of digitalisation and where every kid has their own phone or laptop, it is hard for parents to track their every activity. The children are also smart enough to hide their digital prints from their parents so that they don't get caught. Not many know that apps like Ullu and ALTT's target audience is are teenage and college-going audience. In a statement issued by MIB, they found out that ALTT used to edit their content in the web series and re-publish the unedited version after a certain period. The council found that some of the scenes were totally distasteful and bizarre, where sex and nudity were shown without any contextual justification, just to augment viewership.

Also Read: Ullu, ALTT, Desiflix And More Vanish From App Stores, Search Engines After Government Ban For Streaming Soft Porn Content