31 minutes agoAuthor: Akash Khare
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18 OTT platforms have been banned for showing obscene content. With this step of the government, once again a debate has erupted regarding the content streamed on OTT. In this news we will tell you how the web of porn content spread on OTT. What effect does it have on society and will we also tell you how OTT platforms are monitored…
Know how the web of soft porn spread on OTT…
According to a report by theglobalstatistics.com, there will be approximately 45 crore OTT subscribers in India by 2024. At present, there are a total of 57 OTT platforms in the country, of which Disney + Hotstar is the top OTT platform in India. It occupies 41% of the market.
However, apart from these 57 OTT platforms, there are many smaller OTT platforms also present in the country. What these platforms show comes into limelight only when a complaint is filed related to them.
According to the report of KPMG (Kleinwald Piet Marwick Goerdeler), pornographic content on OTT increased by more than 1200% in India between 2016 and 2020. During this time, many small platforms kept serving and selling porn in the name of 'erotic content'.
The popularity of platforms serving bold content on OTT can be gauged from the success of ULLU app. This app was launched in 2018. In the first two months of the lockdown, the app's growth increased by 250% due to bold content.
Got the biggest boost in lockdown
When OTT platforms were promoted during the lockdown of 2020, there was a flood of obscene content on OTT platforms like Alt Balaji, MX Player and Ullu App.
According to the report of news portal Let's OTT, in July 2020, the highest streaming (1.1 crore) in a day for an adult comedy show was done on the online OTT platform Max Player.
According to this report, the viewership of Alt Balaji in May 2020 increased by 60% compared to 2019. Its monthly active users also increased by 21% in 2020. There is more adult content on this OTT.
More than 1 crore downloads, more than 32 lakh followers
Recently, out of the 18 OTT apps banned by the government, one app has received more than 1 crore downloads. Although its name was not disclosed. Two other apps have received more than 50 lakh downloads on Google Play Store.
Apart from this, these OTT platforms also used social media extensively to attract audiences to their websites and apps. There are a total of more than 32 lakh users on these social media accounts.
Understand the impact of this type of content on children and society from a psychiatrist's perspective…
When Bhaskar talked to Bhopal psychiatrist Dr. Pritesh Gautam about this, he said that the kind of obscene content being presented on web series and OTT is having 3 negative effects on children and users…
First effect- impulsivity increases in children
Vulgarity, nudity and drug abuse are so glamorized in OTT content that children feel that this is the only life. Seeing this, children are becoming impulsive, which is harmful for the society. The social circle of children is also ending.
Second effect- many psychological disorders occur
The content shown on OTT is very addictive. After one episode is over, the user has a strong desire to watch another episode. In the language of psychology it is called compulsion. Many users spend the whole night streaming. In such a situation, when they do not get enough sleep, they develop other psychological disorders.
Third effect- social moral value goes down
Extra marital affairs, teacher-student affairs and even family relationships are misrepresented in the content presented on OTT. After seeing these, the desire to try them in the real world increases in the minds of children. Besides, by normalizing these things, OTT is also bringing down the social moral value.
Now know how the regulation on OTT started…
While the CBFC regulates the content presented in films released in theatres, the content presented on TV and OTT is regulated by the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Although initially there were no rules and regulations for OTT content. In such a situation, allegations of showing nudity and vulgarity were made on many platforms. This type of content was mainly introduced in shows like Sacred Games, Four More Shots Please, Tandav, Paatal Lok and Lust Stories, which later met with controversy.
When soft porn started appearing, the government took steps
According to several media reports, between 2018 and 2024, many OTT platforms started presenting B-grade and low budget soft porn content in the form of web series. After which the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court implemented regulation rules on OTT. Earlier, these OTT apps were warned several times, yet no improvement was found in their content.
Raj Kundra accused of selling porn through OTT in 2021
The porn racket in the country under the guise of OTT and apps was exposed for the first time in 2021 after the arrest of actress Shilpa Shetty's husband Raj Kundra. Raj was accused of selling porn through an OTT platform named 'Hotshot'. He was arrested in this case. At present he is on bail.
On July 19, 2021, Mumbai Police arrested businessman Raj Kundra on charges of making films.
What is Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill?
According to this bill, new rules were also made for OTT, Satellite Cable TV, DTH, IPTV, Digital News and Current Affairs. Under this rule, the OTT platform was called a broadcasting network operator and if any operator or broadcaster does not follow the rules of this bill, then the government can impose restrictions on the concerned platform ranging from modifying, deleting the content or remaining off air for a fixed number of hours. Can also be applied. Currently OTT is regulated under IT Rules 2021.
What are the rules of monitoring now?
The government monitors the content of OTT platforms through the Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021. According to its rules, OTT platforms have to follow the classification, age rating and self-regulation of their content themselves. If this does not happen, then under Section 67, 67A and 67B of this Act, the government can block the objectionable content being presented.
Government action taken so far
- Many websites and OTT platforms were banned by the Cyber Crime Branch for presenting obscene content.
- From time to time, owners of many such platforms were arrested and their bank accounts were frozen.
- On June 27, 2023, DPCGC had objected to the content being streamed on Ullu App. Besides, orders were also given to remove all adult scenes from the content being presented on this app within 15 days.
Now let us know when and how OTT started in the country…
OTT was started in the country in 2008. The first dependent OTT platform was 'BigFlix'. It was released by Reliance Entertainment in the year 2008. After this, in 2010, Digivive launched India's first OTT mobile app named 'NexGTV'.
Big Flix, launched in 2008, was the country's first OTT platform.
Live streaming of IPL increased popularity
In 2013 and 2014, NexGTV became the first app to stream live IPL matches. After this, in 2015, live streaming of IPL made Hotstar (now Disney + Hotstar) the most popular OTT platform in the country.
TV shows also came on OTT in 2013
In 2013, apps like Ditto TV and Sony Liv were also launched which started streaming the shows broadcast on channels like Star, Sony, Viacom and Zee on OTT. After this, the audience started downloading these OTT apps on a large scale and started watching their favorite shows at any time as per their wish.
High jump came during Corona period
In the first three months of the Corona period in 2020, OTT platforms in India received 13% more views as compared to the last three months of 2019. During the first lockdown, G5 subscribers increased the most by 80%, while Amazon Prime was subscribed by 67% new users.
According to the report of Invest India, the time spent by users on OTT platforms like Amazon Prime, Netflix and Disney Plus Hotstar increased by 82.63% during the Corona period. During this period, people of the country spent 20.5% more time on free access platforms like YouTube.
Till 2018, the market of OTT platforms in India was worth Rs 2150 crore. At the end of 2019, it increased to Rs 2185 crore. That means an increase of Rs 35 crore in just one year.
Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana starrer film 'Gulabo Sitabo', released in 2020, was released worldwide on Prime Videos on June 12.
'Gulabo-Sitabo' was the first big film to be released on OTT
The first biggest film released on the OTT platform during Covid was Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana starrer 'Gulabo-Sitabo'. After this, Sushant Singh Rajput's last film 'Dil Bechara' was released which was watched by more than 7.5 crore people in just 3 days.
Also read this news related to this news…
18 OTT platforms showing obscene content banned: Government also blocked 19 websites, 10 apps and 57 social media handles.
The central government on Thursday banned 18 OTT platforms broadcasting obscene content. Along with this, 19 websites, 10 apps and 57 social media handles have also been blocked. Read the full news here…
