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Science & Tech.
Mahesh

01/02/24 08:44 AM IST

Indian Internet shutdown

In News
  • The Supreme Court of India held that access to information via the Internet is a fundamental right under the Indian Constitution.
  • India’s Internet restrictions also accounted for more than 70% of the total loss to the global economy in 2020, and India remains infamous as the Internet shutdown capital of the world.
Recent Restrictions
  • The Government of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has restricted access to mobile data in the Valley of Kashmir.
  • According to an Internet shutdown tracker maintained by the Software Freedom Law Centre, in July and August, the government of J&K suspended Internet services on five separate occasions — in the districts of Baramulla, Pulwama and Shopian.
  • Even in May 2021, the government of J&K suspended Internet services on three occasions in these districts.
Wide-ranging impact
  • In 2020, the Indian economy suffered losses to the tune of $2.8 billion due to 129 separate instances of Internet suspension, which affected 10.3 million individuals.
  • The Internet is a source of information, entertainment, health care, education, livelihood and a platform for the members of Indian society to interact with each other and the world at large.
  • The harm — economic, psychological, social, and journalistic — caused by such suspensions outweighs any speculative benefits.
  • Internet suspensions ought to be imposed in times of emergency and not to stifle the democratic exercise of the right to protest.In those times, the Internet is a necessity to seek help.
  • According to a 2019 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report on Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators, mobile device users (dongle and phone) constituted 97.02% of total Internet users.
  • Only 3% of users have access to broadband Internet. These numbers are not likely to have changed significantly since then, since broadband Internet continues to be expensive.
  • It follows from this that Internet restrictions also tend to adversely affect those from lower socio-economic backgrounds more.
Anuradha Bhasin case
  • In Anuradha Bhasin case, permitted the Government to restrict Internet access only in limited circumstances.
  • Parliament has also allowed these restrictions only in a public emergency or when there is a threat to public safety.
  • Yet, to much dismay, Internet restrictions are much more common than desirable and cannot be challenged because of a lack of transparency.
  • More faithful compliance with the Supreme Court guidelines on the part of the executive government is needed to rid ourselves of the tag of the “internet shutdown capital” of the world and fulfil Digital India’s potential.
Source- The Hindu

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