Catergory

WebsiteBlocking

WhatTheBlock

Delhi HC directs Union of India to File Inter-Ministerial Committee's Report Rejecting Proposal to Unblock "Dowry Calculator" in a Sealed Cover

On October 4, 2023, the Union of India informed the Delhi HC that the IMC had rejected the proposal to provide a suitable disclaimer and to unblock journalist Tanul Thakur's website, the Dowry Calculator.
05 October, 2023
4 min read
Radhika RoyRadhika Roy & Gayatri MalhotraGayatri Malhotra
WebsiteBlocking

Delhi HC directs the Union of India to consider unblocking of Tanul Thakur’s satirical website if a disclaimer is put in place

Tanul Thakur's satirical website, was banned by MeitY without providing him a hearing or a copy of the ban order. the Delhi HC directed the Union of India to consider unblocking the website if a suitable disclaimer is put in place within 6 weeks.
21 July, 2023
3 min read
Gayatri MalhotraGayatri Malhotra
Censorship

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
Anandita MishraAnandita Mishra
Censorship

In proceedings before CIC, IFF obtains website censorship orders from DoT and MTNL

We appealed to the Central Information Commission (‘CIC’), which held hearings on both the RTIs on 20.09.2022. Before the hearing, MTNL reconsidered its stance and informed us that they had blocked 4700 websites in 2020-21. CIC directed DoT to provide copies of the banning orders from 2020-21.
03 October, 2022
4 min read
Tanmay SinghTanmay Singh & Krishnesh BapatKrishnesh Bapat
WhatTheBlock

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
Amala DasarathiAmala Dasarathi
RTI

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
Krishnesh BapatKrishnesh Bapat
freespeech
Featured

IFF writes to Google India about recent instances of YouTube copyright strikes

We write to Google India highlighting that action taken upon copyright complaints is based on an incorrect application of copyright law and YouTube’s policies and, therefore, threatens press freedom and is in violation of the constitutional rights of digital media reporters and its audience.
18 October, 2021
4 min read
Anandita MishraAnandita Mishra & Tanmay SinghTanmay Singh
freespeech
Featured

What to do if your social media account is blocked?

Refer to this explainer to understand what to do if your account is blocked on social media channels like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
30 July, 2021
6 min read
YashaswiniYashaswini
Censorship
Featured

Was your handle blocked without warning? Here’s what you can do.

Incidents of arbitrary censorship of online speech have significantly risen in the recent past. We are frequently asked what can be done if one’s account is blocked. We have prepared a step by step explainer to navigate situations of arbitrary account blockings.
12 July, 2021
5 min read
YashaswiniYashaswini
Net Neutrality

Telegraph Act amendments must protect net neutrality #Savetheinternet

Recent news report have said that the Telegraph Act, 1885 will be updated to include net enutrality considerations. In light of this, we have written to the DoT highlighting key issues that still persist and providing our recommendations for addressing these issues.
17 May, 2021
6 min read
Rohin GargRohin Garg

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