Internet Shutdown in India
Internet Shutdown in India: In 2022, governments in 35 countries resorted to internet shutdowns on at least 187 occasions, as reported by the US digital rights advocacy group Access Now for the #KeepItOn coalition. India emerged as the leading country in terms of documented shutdowns, accounting for approximately 58% of the total. With 84 shutdowns, India surpassed all other nations in this regard. This article aims to provide you with complete details related to the Internet Shutdown in India and why this topic is important for the UPSC exam.
Data compiled by global digital rights group Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition reveals that India implemented at least 84 shutdowns in 2022, the most of any country for a year.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communication and Information Technology headed by Lok Sabha MP Prataprao Jadhav noted: “It is surprising to note that records related to internet shutdowns ordered by State Governments are not maintained by either DoT or MHA and both the Ministries/Departments are not aware of the number of internet shutdowns imposed by the States.”
In J&K, the government said in January 2020 that it would whitelist some websites and allow access to them through 2G. This was an impractical solution because half the websites don’t load on 2G. And if there are whitelisted websites, it’s a problem. A bank’s website could be whitelisted, but if you try to access your account information that is hosted on a different domain, you cannot.
India is the only country in the coveted group of G-20 countries that has imposed an internet shutdown more than twice. Russia and Brazil are the other two courtiers that enforced two and one internet shutdowns respectively in 2022.
India is a largely informal economy, so it’s hard to calculate the exact economic cost of a shutdown. But if attention is to be paid to the impact of the internet shutdown, the government would release the need to look into the alternatives of blanket shutdowns of the internet.
Which among the following acts have any provisions related to the halt or shutdown of the internet by the government?
Select the correct answers from the codes given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Ans. (b) 1 and 3 only
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India implemented at least 84 shutdowns in 2022, the highest number among all countries.
Internet shutdowns are imposed for various reasons, including communal tensions, protests, prevention of cheating during exams, religious processions, and as a preventive or reactive measure for specific events.
The Information Technology Act of 2000 and the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017 provide the legal framework for internet shutdowns in India.
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