The Centre has blocked five 'obscene' Over-the-Top (OTT) services for publishing obscene, vulgar and pornographic content.
The digital services, which have been restricted, are MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro, Digi Movieplex, Feel and Jugnu.
According to the officials, the OTT platforms have been blocked by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) following the due procedure.
"Utilising the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the IT Rules, 2021, appropriate instructions have been issued to ensure that access to the blocked apps is disabled," said sources.
The nature of content available on these platforms were found to be sexual innuendos in violation of Section 67A of the IT Act and, in some cases, videos comprise long portions of sexually explicit scenes involving nudity, thereby being pornographic in nature.
"The ministry keeps receiving complaints about the nature of the programmes or content being shown by OTT platforms. After examining the complaints and thorough procedure, if it is found that the shows violate the rules, their services are blocked," said sources.
Earlier in July last year, at least 25 OTT platforms were blocked for the same reason. The banned digital services--websites and applications--included Ullu, ALTT, Big Shots, Desiflix, NeonX VIP, Gulab App, Kangan App, Hulchul App and MoodX.
Before restricting their services notices were sent to all 25 platforms, however they continued to publish obscene, in some cases pornographic content, said officials.
The action was taken by the MIB in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Department of Legal Affairs (DoLA), and industry bodies such as FICCI and CII, and experts in the field of women's rights and child rights.
Orders for blocking are issued if the content is in violation of section 67 of the IT Act, section 292 of the IPC, and section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.
An advisory was also issued in February last year to OTT platforms to adhere to the Code of Ethics prescribed under IT Rules, 2021 and laws related to obscenity.