News & Media
India's social media crackdown reveals clumsy govt machinery
"High-handed" and "reckless" are some of the words used in the media to describe the government's online crackdown.
Govt in line of fire over web censorship
Social media abuzz with allegations of government gagging free speech in the garb of curbing hate messages.
India seeks a tighter grip on social media
India, with the world's third largest number of Facebook users, is clamping down on social media after recent posting of inflammatory videos on Web sites.
Twitter users hit back at government ban
The government faced an angry backlash from Twitter users on Thursday after ordering Internet service providers to block about 20 accounts that officials said had spread scare-mongering material that threatened national security.
Govt cracks down on Twitter
India’s crackdown on social media platforms for hosting “inflammatory” content — following the violence in Assam and the exodus of northeastern people from several cities — seems to have been a little reckless.
NE exodus: List containing 309 blocked URLs leaks online
Latest reports coming in have confirmed that a list containing 309 URLs, whose ban the government had sought in light of the Assam violence and the subsequent NE exodus, has been leaked online.
Govt orders blocking of 300 specific URLs including 16 Twitter accounts
The government stepped up its efforts to stop what it feels is an online campaign of misinformation and rumour mongering in the wake of lower Assam riots and ordered blocking of 16 Twitter accounts, including two belonging to journalists, considered sympathetic to the right in India.
New Delhi Expands Curbs on Web Content
India on Thursday broadened recent efforts to regulate the Internet with moves to block Twitter accounts of some prominent journalists and content from mainstream news organizations, sparking a backlash across social media in the country.
Internet expert Pranesh Prakash criticizes Indian cyber blockades
The government's attempts to block social media accounts and websites that it blames for spreading panic have been inept and possibly illegal, a top internet expert said on Friday.
Govt vs Tweeple: Has clampdown hit free speech?
Has the Government crossed the line by ordering the blocking of several Twitter accounts, many belonging to prominent journalists? The debate was featured in NDTV on August 23, 2012.
India limits social media after civil unrest
Has the Indian government lost its sense of humour? That’s what some in India were asking as word spread that authorities had pressured Twitter into blocking several accounts parodying the prime minister after civil unrest that saw dozens of people from northeastern India killed and thousands flee in panic.
India’s ethnic clashes intensify within social-media maelstrom
It began in mid-July: First came a series of retaliatory killings between ethnic communities in the state of Assam in mid-July. Soon nearly 500,000 people had fled their homes for grim refugee camps. The central government belatedly sent in troops to assist, although that has barely quieted matters. But in the meantime, the violence in remote Assam triggered a bizarre series of knock-on events that has affected the entire country.
Northeast exodus: Is there a mechanism to pre-screen social media content?
The government has passed the blame buck on social media and blocked hundreds of websites, which it claims, hosted hate speech and inflammatory content, enough to incite violence. But is it feasible to pre-screen objectionable or provocative content, and reject it before posting so that there is no chance of such rumours?
India Debates Misuse of Social Media
India has blocked more than 250 websites after provocative online content spread panic among people from the country's northeast, prompting some of them to flee Indian cities. The crackdown has sparked a debate about how the country will cope with misuse of social media.
Sixth Meeting of the two Sub-Groups on Privacy Issues under the Chairmanship of Justice AP Shah
The sixth meeting of the two sub-groups on privacy issues will be held on August 31, 2012 at 10.00 a.m. in Committee Room No. 228, Yojana Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi under the chairmanship of Justice AP Shah, former chief justice of Delhi High Court.
India limits social media after civil unrest
Indian officials have gone too far in limiting text messages and pressuring local Internet firms as well as Twitter and others to block accounts, critics say.
Haphazard censorship? Leaked list of blocked websites in India
An analysis of a leaked list of the websites blocked by Indian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) on directions from the Department of Telecom bring to light the inconsistencies in India's online censorship efforts.
Government asks Twitter to block fake 'PMO India' accounts; site fails to respond
A standoff between the government and microblogging service Twitter, that has got India's online community up in arms, continues, as Twitter is still to act on India's requests to block some of the fake 'PMO India' accounts.
Internet Analysts Question India’s Efforts to Stem Panic
The Indian government’s efforts to stem a weeklong panic among some ethnic minorities has again put it at odds with Internet companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter.
India blocks more than 250 Web sites for inciting hate, panic
Nearly 80 people have been killed and 400,000 displaced in fighting between Muslims and India’s Hindu Bodo tribespeople in Assam, a northeastern state of India, in recent weeks. The violence has prompted many northeasterners living in major cities to flee, fearing reprisals.
