Internet users in India woke
up to a huge shock, on 1st August 2015, when instead of getting access to their
favourite pornographic websites they were greeted with a message-"The site
has been blocked as per the instructions of Competent Authority,"-on their
computer screens! The outrage grew as news spread online about the possible ban
by the government. According to reports, over 850 websites were blocked, by
issuing notices to internet service providers.
"We have written to the
ISPs (internet service providers) to restrict free and open access to 857
websites. This direction is based on the observations made by the honourable
Supreme Court on 10 July and using section 79 (3b) of the IT Act read with
Article 19 (2) of the Indian constitution," telecom ministry spokesperson
N.N. Kaul told a leading Indian online media portal.
Is this the way ahead?
With less than a fortnight to
go for Independence Day, this is stark infringement of individual freedom. It
is an ironic attempt to ban porn in a country where a porn star has got
effortlessly mainstreamed in Bollywood.
According to data from
Pornhub, one of the world's largest porn sites, Indians are among the most
'prolific consumers' of internet pornography, accounting for 40 per cent of its
14.2 billion visits. Mizoram consumes most porn and Delhi finishes a close
second. The data also revealed that Canadian-Indian actress Sunny Leone is the
most searched-for porn star in the country.
We can understand the call
from certain section of activists campaigning for a ban on child pornography.
There is also a running debate on whether watching porn encourages violence
against women and sexism?
Here is Ram Gopal Varma's take
on it as he says pushing matters under the carpet is no solution at all:
Is this ban mandated by the
constitution?
Section 79(3) (b) of the IT
Act requires intermediaries to take down or block access to content when
demanded by the government, while Article 19 (2) of the constitution imposes
"reasonable restrictions" on freedom of speech. This latest attempt
is stretching the limits of being reasonable.
A complete turnabout!
In a marked contrast, in early
July 2015, the Supreme Court had declined to pass an order to block
pornographic websites in India during a petition brought by advocate Kamlesh
Vashwani. Chief Justice of India (CJI) H.L. Dattu had then observed that it
would be a violation of right to personal liberty to ban anyone over 18 years
of age from watching it within their homes.
Social media outrage:
Twitter is abuzz withth tweets
from celebrities, film directors and common man crying foul and terming this as
a brazen act against personal liberty.
Here are some tweets doing the
round:
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