NEW DELHI: The ministry of information and broadcasting on Thursday asked the Over-the-Top (OTT) service providers and media streaming intermediaries to stop airing content, including films, songs, and podcasts having origins in Pakistan with “immediate effect.”
Referring to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media, Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the ministry's note said, “In the interest of national security, all OTT platforms, media streaming platforms and intermediaries operating in India are advised to discontinue the web-series, films, songs, podcasts and other streaming media content, whether made available on a subscription based model or otherwise, having its origins in Pakistan with immediate effect.”
The ministry’s advisory also mentioned the Pahalgam incident in which 26 tourists were gunned down.
“Several terrorist attacks in India have been established to have cross border linkages with Pakistan-based State and non-State actors. Recently, on April 22, 2025 the terrorist attack in Pahalgam led to the killing of several Indians, one Nepali citizen, and injuries to a number of others,” it read.
Besides eight major Postcast platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Music, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube Music, there are about 60 OTT platforms, streaming media or video on demand over the Internet, available in India.
The rules provide that intermediaries shall make reasonable efforts by itself, and to cause the users of its computer resource to not host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share any information that inter-alia "threatens the unity, integrity, defence, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign States, or public order".
The Code of Ethics under the rules states that a publisher shall take into consideration-- when deciding to feature or transmit or publish or exhibit any content—whether the content affects the sovereignty and integrity of India, threatens, endangers or jeopardises the security of the State.