Govt cracks down on websites, blogs

The government has blocked over 60 websites since 2003, including www.sex.in, among others. Acting on the five grounds enshrined in the Information Technology Act, 2000, the department of telecom has got Internet service providers to deny access to users based in India. Most of the targeted websites are hosted on servers outside India.

On July 13, the DoT, for the first time ever in the country, ordered blogs to be blocked off from Indian cyberspace. Collateral damage in the form of denial of service to the huge community of Indian bloggers happened as a result.

While this community may be vexed with this move, experts say the move is open to legal question. Internet Service Providers Association of India Secretary Deepak Maheshwari said this was the first time that blogspots had been barred to Indian users.

Noted cyber law expert Pavan Duggal pointed out that the IT Act was silent on blogs and blogging. "Even the proposed amendments to the Act are also silent on the issue. On the other hand, a blogger can challenge the ban on the grounds that his freedom of speech and expression, although that is not an absolute right and the government can impose reasonable restrictions, if it feels so," he said.

The IT Act empowers the computer emergency response team-in (Cert-In) to be the sole authority for blocking websites on five grounds "" security of state, sovereignty of nation, friendly relations with other nations, public order and for preventing congnisable offences.

Interestingly, the Centre can act against websites suo motu or on a complaint from a recognised authority. It cannot act on private complaints.

Given the nature of the websites and blogs targeted "" many of them connected with the Hindu far-right sentiments and anti-Left in nature "" the latest blockade seems to have been motivated by specific complaints from within the government.

Duggal finds the blockade absurd. "In 2003, when the government blocked a Yahoo e-group set up by the Khasi separatist outfit of the North-East, Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council, traffic to the website went up a 1,000 times. This ban is ineffective and will only boost their popularity", he said. Internet users in the rest of the world can still access these websites.

A blogger expressed amazement over the decision: "How does blogging affect the security of citizens? At this rate, the government may one day block the Internet because of suspected threat to national security".