Within the last Few hours, the central government in India has banned 18 OTT apps, 19 websites, and 10 applications. Following the order, all these OTT platforms along with websites and applications will no longer be able to provide their services in India.
However, the question arises: why did the government have to ban them? What kind of content was being served that necessitated such a drastic step of shutting them down forcibly? Answering this, India’s Minister of Information Technology, Anurag Thakur, explained that the action to ban them all was taken under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Minister Anurag Thakur emphasized the responsibility of these platforms to not disseminate obscene and indecent content in the guise of ‘creative expression’. He mentioned that warnings had been issued previously, but no steps were taken by them, and they continued to broadcast objectionable content continuously. Therefore, besides shutting them down, there was no other option left.
Appreciating the step taken by the central government, Mansie Bhatt, channel producer of Mask TV OTT platform, stated that they have been operating their OTT platform in accordance with the guidelines of the central government. This is why their platform has been gaining popularity among the public. Those who spread obscenity in society should face consequences. We have been offering content for people of all ages on our Mask TV OTT platform, which is why our platform has firmly established itself in the market. We have released various types of content such as crime thrillers, romantic comedies, suspense thrillers, comedy, documentaries, social dramas, patriotic, mythological, in several languages on our OTT platform. Many of our series/films have been viewed millions of times in such a short time, which indicates the excellence of our content. We will continue to create content keeping in mind the demands of our audience. Recently, a web film titled “Hindutva” was released on our Mask TV OTT platform, featuring television’s renowned serial Ramayana’s Sita Ji, Dipika Chikhlia Topiwala, bhajan samrat Anup Jalota, Ram of Sita fame Ashish Sharma, and renowned actors like Govind Namdev.
