4 ms·

Indian Court says may "block" Google and Facebook, like China

34 points by shreex 15y ago

start123 15y ago
Being an Indian, I can confidently say that neither Facebook nor Google would be blocked..Ever. Unlike China, India is a democratic country and its media is independent from the clutches of the higher authority. Serious objections would be raised from all quarters if the high court decides to go ahead with the ban.
- sidww2 15y ago
  This is a court threatening the block. I'm not sure if the government can just ignore a court decision.
  - movingahead 15y ago
    I am pretty sure Google, Facebook and others will appeal in a higher court if this lower court does go ahead with blocking. There are clear provisions in the Indian IT act which prevents the website from any damage until it cooperates with the government and removes the objectionable material. There has been a huge debate in the recent past whether the categorization of content as 'objectionable' can be done by the Govt. or whether it should be left to courts.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- warmfuzzykitten 15y ago
  Not being an Indian, I'm surprised at how often the word "defamatory" appears in discussions by Indian government officials and now this court. Is prior restraint an established Indian tradition? Is criticism of government or other public figures out of bounds? If it is, it's difficult to see how the internet could ever be made to conform.
  - dm8 15y ago
    As discussed earlier, criticism of government or public figures is not out of bounds. Freedom of speech is very important and everyone values that in India. Print/electronic media is not regulated and they often criticize the government. However, they (especially print media) work under certain moral framework like not making any obscene remarks or vulgar attacks. I believe that is the sticking point for all the authorities in India. If traditional media can follow this "moral framework" then why not the Internet? And to be honest, I'm not sure how many people even understand the concept of user generated content based websites or web 2.0; let alone the inner workings of the Internet. I fear Internet regulation will be the major theme of 2012. All the major countries are looking ways to regulate it. And its really sad.
jagira 15y ago
An old but apt tweet: Clean drinking water in villages. Primary education for all. Safe streets. No hungry people. Ah never mind. Let's monitor content on the net and block sites.
- blisper 15y ago
  If we asked a good sample of Chinese citizens if they valued freedom of speech more, I wonder what their choice would be. Based on my Chinese colleagues, it will be probably split down the middle, i.e. 50% of them picking freedom - for reasons of the "lost generation".
brador 15y ago
Seeing as the general perception of the Indian economy is IT services and call centres, switching off Google would be akin to banning the telephone.
- scarface548 15y ago
  IT services and call centers make up for only 3% of GDP despite the general perception
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
just_a_cs_dude 15y ago
I am sure it would be tough, but as we have seen that this could happen, as happened in China. What could be a viable solution? I mean, for future, how can we make it so that blocking two domains is not what it would take for a government agency to block big networks like Facebook and Google.

34 points by shreex 15y ago

Being an Indian, I can confidently say that neither Facebook nor Google would be blocked..Ever. Unlike China, India is a democratic country and its media is independent from the clutches of the higher authority. Serious objections would be raised from all quarters if the high court decides to go ahead with the ban.

sidww2 15y ago
This is a court threatening the block. I'm not sure if the government can just ignore a court decision.
- movingahead 15y ago
  I am pretty sure Google, Facebook and others will appeal in a higher court if this lower court does go ahead with blocking. There are clear provisions in the Indian IT act which prevents the website from any damage until it cooperates with the government and removes the objectionable material. There has been a huge debate in the recent past whether the categorization of content as 'objectionable' can be done by the Govt. or whether it should be left to courts.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
warmfuzzykitten 15y ago
Not being an Indian, I'm surprised at how often the word "defamatory" appears in discussions by Indian government officials and now this court. Is prior restraint an established Indian tradition? Is criticism of government or other public figures out of bounds? If it is, it's difficult to see how the internet could ever be made to conform.
- dm8 15y ago
  As discussed earlier, criticism of government or public figures is not out of bounds. Freedom of speech is very important and everyone values that in India. Print/electronic media is not regulated and they often criticize the government. However, they (especially print media) work under certain moral framework like not making any obscene remarks or vulgar attacks. I believe that is the sticking point for all the authorities in India. If traditional media can follow this "moral framework" then why not the Internet? And to be honest, I'm not sure how many people even understand the concept of user generated content based websites or web 2.0; let alone the inner workings of the Internet. I fear Internet regulation will be the major theme of 2012. All the major countries are looking ways to regulate it. And its really sad.

jagira 15y ago

An old but apt tweet: Clean drinking water in villages. Primary education for all. Safe streets. No hungry people. Ah never mind. Let's monitor content on the net and block sites.

blisper 15y ago
If we asked a good sample of Chinese citizens if they valued freedom of speech more, I wonder what their choice would be. Based on my Chinese colleagues, it will be probably split down the middle, i.e. 50% of them picking freedom - for reasons of the "lost generation".

brador 15y ago

Seeing as the general perception of the Indian economy is IT services and call centres, switching off Google would be akin to banning the telephone.

scarface548 15y ago
IT services and call centers make up for only 3% of GDP despite the general perception
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

just_a_cs_dude 15y ago

I am sure it would be tough, but as we have seen that this could happen, as happened in China. What could be a viable solution? I mean, for future, how can we make it so that blocking two domains is not what it would take for a government agency to block big networks like Facebook and Google.