The Indian government has already played a heavy hand by banning 25 OTT platforms entirely. These platforms have been targeted for facilitating “obscene” content, exposing the administration’s agenda to control digital media at any cost. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting responded by ordering internet service providers and app stores to block access. This extends to the biggest platforms of all, Google Play and Apple App Store. This agency directive is the latest indication that the administration is very serious about enforcing its standards on public content posted online.
The Indian government’s action follows concerns raised by various authorities, including the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology. These bodies have lobbied heavily against the streaming platforms for distributing mature content that they claim is inappropriate for all viewers. Since their releases, the services that are now banned have found immense popularity, with nearly 105 million downloads between them. They produced some truly great cumulative in-app purchases of $5.7 million.
The directives issued by the Ministry cited provisions from the Information Technology Act of 2000 and the IT Rules of 2021, emphasizing the legal framework supporting this crackdown. In practice, most of the targeted streaming services were not even available on the iOS and Android app stores. Many had been taken out previously, too. As a result, these platforms frequently made their apps available as direct APK downloads, bypassing traditional distribution channels.
Among the Indian streaming services caught up in this crackdown are Ullu and ALTT. Last month, India blocked the latter’s app making it unavailable on Google Play and the App Store in India. Additionally, ALTT’s website was blocked on all Indian internet service providers at the time of publication. Ullu had brilliantly done enough back foot work to stay relevant. Its app is still widely available on the Indian Play Store, and users can quickly download its website.
The Indian government has repeatedly threatened streaming platforms with spreading abusive and obscene content during 2023. This latest action aligns with a growing trend among regulatory bodies seeking to impose stricter controls over digital content dissemination. In April 2025, India’s Supreme Court issued notices to both streaming platforms and the government regarding a plea aimed at regulating sexually explicit material, further underscoring the judicial system’s engagement in this matter.
The government is aggressively enforcing these bans, but some APK files related to the blocked steaming services are still available. Customers continue to discover them on aggregator sites and through other third-party sources. This ongoing accessibility further questions the efficacy of regulatory and other measures to completely ban access to such content.
This is a bold move by the Indian government in banning these streaming services. This action is intended to protect public values and spare vulnerable communities from having to encounter objectionable content. This current state of affairs demonstrates the challenges of regulating online content. Users can easily circumvent restrictions in our rapidly changing digital environment.