The Indian Government has issued an order to all Indian ISPs for a ban on various blogging sites. While no official release has been made on this front, the reasons being attributed to this ban range from it being a preventive measure to stop sleeper terrorist cells from accessing instructions contained in blogs, to a new measure to try and control the spread of information through blogs. The order was issued by Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The known list of blocked domains is *.blogspot.com, *.typepad.com and geocities.com/*.
It leads me to wonder if this is a case of ISPs overreacting, which would not be the first. Three years ago, they had rather zealously blocked groups.yahoo.com in a similar manner when all they wanted to actually do was to block a particular group. As of now most of the large ISPs have already complied with the DoT order and a large population of Indian bloggers has been cut off from their own blogs. Keep checking back here, as we will post more news on this story whenever available.
Here is a a list of Indian ISPs who have already complied with this order.
Update: Rediff has carried a comprehensive story on this. It seems the first person to discover this block was Mridula Dwivedi, a teacher of management studies in Gurgaon, who first discovered that visiting any blogspot blog - such as, say Mumbai Help - returned the message ‘Site Blocked!’ The plot began to thicken when her ISP, Spectranet, confirmed they had blocked some sites based on government directives.
In other quarters, J Grewal, Spectranet’s Delhi representative at the National Internet Exchange of India, has told Rediff that on July 15, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had sent ISPs a list of sites to be blocked. In response to this blockage, several bloggers have banded together and are putting together a plan to file a Right to Information application to obtain the list.
This will made be possible under the Information Technology Act, 2000, through a body called the Computer Emergency Response Team, or CERT-IN, which was was created as an oversight committee similar to such bodies the world over. Although it’s main mandate is to ensure full security of the Internet in India, it also oversees Internet censorship under a clause that seeks to ensure ‘balanced flow of information.’ Under its purview, any government department seeking a block on any web site has to approach CERT-IN, which then instructs the DoT to block the site after confirming the authenticity of the complaint. Web sites can be blocked if they contain pornography, speeches of hate, contempt, slander or defamation or if they promote gambling, racism, violence or terrorism.
This is really ridiculous and shows how UTTERLY INCOMPETENT DoT and the Indian ISPs are. Reminds me of a similar move sometime ago to block Yahoo Groups.
It appears that the people behind the recent incidents in Mumbai had used cellphones and email. So we can next expect a ban on cellphones, internet and cyber cafes. And our so called free press won't say a word.
It appears that the people behind the recent incidents in Mumbai had used cellphones and email. So we can next expect a ban on cellphones, internet and cyber cafes. And our so called free press won't say a word.
one prank even dropped an envelope in the Temple, so even postal services come under scanner. From now onwards, no envelopes, just postcards and inland letters.
Jokes apart, here is some serious read about this issue
Deadly Conversations
Our eight-year analysis of more than 4,800 terrorist websites, forums and chat rooms reveals several forms of dispute.
Members of the terrorist community use the internet to present disagreement within their network, with examples found in online discourse of Al Qaeda supporters and mentors. For example, a lingering inner debate focused on Al Qaeda's attacks in Saudi Arabia during 2001-2003. Al Qaeda's online magazine, "Sawt al-Jihad," or "Voice of Jihad," devoted an issue to this debate in January 2004. One anonymous author seeks to justify the jihad in Saudi Arabia:
"My Muslim Mujahid brother, can you not see Muslims killed in Afghanistan, and then in Iraq...? Can you not see the Muslims in this worst condition of shame, humiliation, pain, harm, and injury? Can you not see that the headquarters of the war was from the [Arabian] Peninsula and that the center of all kinds of logistical support was this land, which the Prophet, may peace be upon him, commanded be purified from the polytheist?"
Terrorists also use the internet to attack, sometimes ferociously, other groups. The Chechen rebels, for example, criticized Hamas for eagerness to meet with Russian leaders after their victory in the 2006 Palestinian election. On May 30, 2004, Hamas published a press release on its official website, discussing the Khobar attack in Saudi Arabia, where 22 people, most foreigners, were killed by an Al Qaeda–related group during a 25-hour hostage ordeal:
what I see is a broader malaise affecting the GoI. On Kashmir issue it is trying to copy Isreal and US, and on censorship issue it is trying to copy China. I am afraid but what we are seeing over here is lack of character on the part of GoI. Remember, Delhi Police made fool of itself by arresting(then releasing) CEO of Bazee.com.