Hotstar Says Does Not Provide Any Pornographic Content

Hotstar, a unit of Star India Pvt Ltd, on Friday said it absolutely does not provide any kind of pornographic content and emphasised that it is just a video streaming platform providing content on demand and not an IPTV service provider.

The statement by Hotstar comes days after the Delhi High Court asked the Centre to examine the allegation that objectionable content, including soft pornography, was being made available for download from hotstar.com website, run by a subsidiary of Star India Pvt Ltd, and take appropriate action.

"Hotstar is a leading destination for the consumption of entertainment and sports content. Hotstar absolutely does not provide any kind of pornographic content. The pleadings proceed on the basis that Hotstar is an IPTV service provider which is entirely incorrect," a Hotstar statement said.

Like many others, globally and locally, including YouTube, Netflix, and Voot, Hotstar is a video streaming platform providing content on demand, it added.

Stating that it has been served with a copy of the Delhi High Court order dated November 11, 2016, and the pleadings on the basis of which the order came to be passed, Hotstar pointed out that it is "compelled" to provide certain factual clarifications at this stage.

"In any event, as the order has directed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) / DoT to look into the matter in accordance with law, we find no irregularity in providing these factual clarifications at this stage," Hotstar said.

The court's direction came on a plea by Un-Canned Media, alleging that objectionable content was being made available for download by the companies.