43 OTT platforms blocked by I&B ministry till date: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Platforms blocked for violating Indian laws, failing to comply with code of ethics under IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021

New Delhi: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has blocked 43 OTT (over-the-top) platforms after consultations with multiple ministries for violating Indian laws and failing to comply with the code of ethics under the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, union minister for railways, I&B, and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

Union minister for railways, I&B, and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw was responding to a question in the Lok Sabha. (ANI Video Grab)

Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha, Vaishnaw said that Part III of the IT Rules mandates the OTT platforms to adhere to a code of ethics and avoid transmitting content prohibited by law, classify content by age based on guidelines related to nudity, sex, and violence, and implement adequate safeguards and access controls to prevent children from accessing age-inappropriate material.

He added that an advisory was issued in February reminding platforms and self-regulatory bodies of their responsibilities under the IT Rules, 2021.

A series of crackdowns were carried out on streaming platforms for alleged obscene and pornographic content over the past year. The government had blocked 18 OTT platforms in March last year and 25 OTT platforms on July 23 this year.

An internal MIB document on content blocking actions, reviewed by HT, said that five platforms blocked in March 2024 resurfaced on new domains and resumed publishing obscene content. This repeat-offender pattern, the ministry said, highlights the difficulty of curbing explicit material online. Five platform names appeared in both the March 2024 and July 2025 orders, though the ministry did not clarify to HT whether these were the same entities operating under new domains.

According to the MIB document, warnings were issued to OTT platforms in September 2024, and again in February 2025. In May, the ministry even intervened and took down Ullu’s web series House Arrest.

The content published on the blocked OTT platforms was found to violate relevant sections of the IT Act, Indian Penal Code (IPC), and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986. HT learnt that the July 2025 order was issued specifically under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, which allows the government to direct intermediaries to remove access to unlawful content if they fail to act after being notified.