MUMBAI: Seven over-the-top (OTT) services, including Ekta Kapoor-founded Alt Balaji, and two web portals have been booked by Maharashtra Cyber for allegedly transmitting sexually explicit and obscene content online, reports Nitasha Natu. Summons will be issued to the heads of these services shortly, said officials.
An FIR has been registered against OTT platforms Hotshot, Ullu/Hotmasti, Chikooflix, Kukoo, Primeflix, Flizmovies/ Neoflix/ Feneo and web portals www.xvideos.com and www.pornhub.com for hosting and transmitting pornographic content. “The videos uploaded on these platforms and portals have not been certified by any certifying agency. It is likely that the actresses in these videos have been exploited, lured or compelled to perform the obscene acts. We will be treating the actresses as ‘victims’ and not ‘accused persons’,” said special inspector general of police Yashasvi Yadav.
The heads of these services would be asked to pull down the content, failing which Maharashtra Cyber would consider blocking it. Officials said pornographic content on the internet had grown multi-fold during lockdown. “ Some of the services are offering paid content and have home-grown content shot locally,” an officer said. Data released by Pornhub in April this year showed that India reported a 95% spike in traffic to adult websites during 3 weeks of lockdown. TOI reached out to Alt Balaji, but they refused to comment.