The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had blocked total of 1,482 websites or URLs from January to March 2022. It was revealed in an RTI question filed by Software Freedom Legal Central (SFLC.in), a legal policy firm. The blocked sites would include all sorts of URLs like webpages, websites and pages on social media platforms.

HIGHLIGHTS
1,482 websites or URLs were blocked from January to March 2022
URLs includes different pages, websites on social media platforms
The URLs are blocked under the Section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000

Therefore, these websites were blocked citing Section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. The Section states that any agency of the government or any intermediary would be asked to block the access of information for the general public “in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with the foreign states or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognisable offence about the above”.

According to Prasanth Sugathan the Legal Director of SFLC.in, “Section 69A of the Information Technology Act has been used again and again by the government to censor content, usually in violation of the provisions of the section that mention restricted grounds for blocking of access to any information.”

Under the Rule 16 of Information Technology Rules, 2009, strict confidentiality had to be maintained relating all the requests and complaints received. This suggests that the government would be able to block any URL without even providing any substantial information or misinformation, within the larger interest of national security.

However, Sugathan believes that “the confidentiality clause within the blocking rules would result in all orders and information relating to such blocking remaining out of the purview of the general public. Well, when the users whose content would be taken down were also not informed. This essentially then goes against the rationale of the Apex Court in upholding the section and therefore the rules in Shreya Singhal vs Union of India.”

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