Catergory

MeitY

Karnataka HC refuses to permit an impacted user to intervene in Twitter’s Petition against censorship orders

Mr Patel approached the Court to highlight the concerns of users who are not heard by MeitY before their accounts on Twitter are censored.
27 October, 2022
4 min read

VideoLAN has issued a legal notice to DoT and MeitY for banning their website in India

VideoLAN’s URL from which users download the VLC Media Player appears to have been banned by the DoT in India since March 2021. This was done without any prior notice, or affording VideoLAN an opportunity of hearing, which is contrary to the Indian law.
04 October, 2022
4 min read

IAMAI leads effort to establish a self-regulatory body; We release the draft document in public interest.

Recent reports suggest that efforts to establish a Self-Regulatory Grievance Redressal Board (“the Board”), led by the IAMAI, is underway. We are making this draft “Code For Establishing A Self Regulatory Grievance Redressal Board” public in the wider interest of the citizens of India.
13 August, 2022
6 min read

MeitY publishes and then withdraws a proposal to amend IT Rules, 2021

On June 2nd, 2022, the MeitY proposed amendments to IT Rules, 2021 to ‘address the gaps identified’ and invited comments on the proposal. Later in the day, it was reported that MeitY had decided to withdraw the proposal and that the proposal may be released again next week.
03 June, 2022
4 min read

DoT starts publishing court orders for online censorship #WhatTheBlock

We wrote to the DoT to appreciate their proactiveness in publishing the blocking notifications under court orders and urged them to ensure that executive blocking orders are made publicly available.
01 June, 2022
4 min read

Delhi HC orders MeitY to give copy of ban order and hearing to Mr Tanul Thakur for banning his website #WhatTheBlock

Tanul Thakur's satirical website dowrycalculator.com was blocked without giving him a copy of the blocking order or an opportunity to be heard. On 11th May 2022, the Delhi High Court Court directed MeitY to provide Tanul Thakur a copy of the blocking order and give him a post-decisional hearing.
16 May, 2022
4 min read

Revealed: MeitY blocked 6096 URLs and 347 applications in 2021 but held less than 40 hearings

In reply to an RTI, MeitY has accepted that it blocked 6096 URLs and 347 applications in 2021 but held less than 40 hearings. MeitY refused to disclose the number of requests it received to block content and stated that it did not maintain data on how many content creators were granted a hearing.
23 April, 2022
5 min read

Delhi High Court calls for case files and asks MeitY to consider hearing creator of satirical Dowry Calculator on website blocking #WhatTheBlock

Mr Tanul Thakur is the creator of the satirical website dowrycalculator.com. In 2018, the Union Government blocked the website without granting him a hearing or providing a copy of the order. Mr Thakur has challenged the blocking order.
29 March, 2022
5 min read

The Change Game: MeitY Resorts To Quick Fixes To Silence Experts

IFF writes to MeitY on the multiple changes made to the Draft India Data Accessibility & Use Policy, 2022 without any public acknowledgement. IFF calls for a fresh start to the consultation process.
26 March, 2022
7 min read

The Government Wants To Sell Your Data | #SaveOurPrivacy

We respond to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's Draft Data Access Policy. The policy raises serious privacy concerns due to its perverse economic incentives on data sharing.
05 March, 2022
7 min read

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