Measuring internet freedom in India over the past decade

Regionally, Jammu and Kashmir saw the highest number of closures in the last 12 years at 433. followed by Rajasthan, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The longest power outage in 2023 occurred in Manipur from May to December amid ethnic clashes between the majority Meitei tribe living in the Imphal Valley and the Kukizo community in the surrounding hills. Earlier, the longest internet shutdown in history (552 days) was recorded in Kashmir in 2019-2020.

As of February 15, the shutdown remains in Haryana, Hisar, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Sirsa, Ambala and Fatehabad districts. As farmers in Punjab stage a protest in Delhi, the federal government has invoked its powers under a British-era law to shut down mobile internet, making it the first country outside the capital to do so.

The worst affected areas in Jammu and Kashmir include Pulwama, Anantnag, Srinagar and Shupyan. In Manipur, the highest number of internet ban incidents were recorded in Churachandpur, Bishnupal and Imphal West. Activists said India had not met a “three-step test” for imposing power cuts in Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur. Under international law, in order to block access to content or take enforcement measures that violate people’s fundamental rights, countries must ensure that: Are such measures prescribed by law? Pursue a legitimate purpose. and subject to criteria of necessity and proportionality.

Most internet outages in the past decade were concentrated in specific districts, cities, and villages. But since 96% of internet subscribers use mobile devices to access the internet, this “means an internet blackout for most of the region’s population,” the Human Rights Watch report said. Pointed out. Power outages deny access to fundamental rights and disproportionately impact people from marginalized communities, such as MNREGA workers and those who rely on government subsidies.

The internet was banned in most cases due to political instability, to quell protests and mass violence, and to prevent cheating on exams. For example, on September 8, 2018, the state of Maharashtra cut internet services in Pune during the Maratha quota reservation protests. Of the 75 closures in 2022, 41 were ordered for “terrorism” reasons, followed by “community tensions,” according to SFLC’s analysis. Trends vary worldwide. The most common reason for internet shutdowns is protests, followed by information control and political instability.

Most of the disruptions were preemptively imposed in response to protests. Preventive closures increased from 5 in 2014 to 81 in 2023. The highest number of preventive orders passed in 2021 includes at least four for deliberate disruption in Jammu and Kashmir, suspension of mobile internet during farmer protests, and suspension of classes for students. Cheating on exams.

blocked websites

According to SFLC data, more than 55,000 websites were blocked between 2015 and 2022. The largest proportion of censored content was made by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (responsible for 47% of requests) and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting under Section 69A of the IT Act. The URLs were blocked because they linked to organizations prohibited by the UAPA and to content that was considered fake news, some of which was related to the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir. Just recently, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued an order to media outlets. caravan The purpose was to remove articles alleging that Indian troops abused, tortured and killed civilians in Jammu’s Poonch district.

On social media, approximately 30,000 social media URLs (including accounts and posts) were blocked between 2018 and 2022, with the majority of requests going to X (formerly known as Twitter). Ta. “…it is necessary or expedient to do so in order to incite an overt crime against the sovereignty and integrity of India, the defense of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign states or public order, or in connection with the foregoing.” IT Minister Rajeev said. Chandrasekhar said this in a written reply in Parliament.

The website was also blocked for two more reasons. Court-ordered takedowns occur due to copyright infringement and account for 46.8% of all blocked websites. The remaining 1.91% of websites were blocked for promoting “obscene” content, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and pornography.

A common reason cited for blocking websites is the growing threat of cybercrime. The number of infections in 2013 was 5,693, but last year India recorded more than 65,000 infections. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the number of cases increased by almost 434% between 2016 and 2022. Most were related to fraud and others were for sexual exploitation purposes. In 2022, the majority of complaints related to financial fraud were received from Telangana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. The data also showed that conviction rates for crimes such as identity theft, publishing sexually explicit material and cyberstalking remained below 30%.

Trends in India and the world

Global internet freedom has declined for the 13th consecutive year, with the online human rights environment worsening in 29 countries, according to a new Freedom House report. As signatories to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it states: “There is a fundamental understanding that government regulation of the Internet or Internet-based services must respect fundamental human rights standards.” Ta. said Raman Chima of Access Now. hinduism in 2020.