New Delhi: The government, which had on July 30 sought disabling of 857 URLs over adult content and child pornography, beat a hasty retreat on Tuesday after facing flak on social media and the online world. In a new and sudden directive, it asked ISPs to allow websites that do not carry child pornography.
While the earlier order was specific in naming and banning 857 websites, the new Govt. order puts the onus on Internet service providers (ISPs) to allow only adult websites that do not carry child pornography. The ISP’s say that the order is “vague and un-implementable.”
“ISPs have no way or mechanism to filter out child pornography from URLs, and the further unlimited sub-links,” Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) said. “We urge you to withdraw the said vague directive as it is not only confusing but also putting responsibility on ISPs,” ISPAI president Rajesh Chharia said in a letter to telecom secretary Rakesh Garg.
Chharia said that the ISPs do not have any control over the content on websites and added that URLs can change the content at any moment without informing them. “The ISPs do not have mechanism to check the content, as the same is dynamic in nature. Hence, we request your good self to advise us immediately on the future course of action in this regard. Till your further directive, the ISPs are keeping the said 857 URLs disabled,” ISPAI said.
The move will come in as further embarrassment to the government which has been trying to engage in a damage-control exercise after the outrage its original decision led to.
Telecom and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who had on Monday defended the move, had to “review” the controversial decision on Tuesday after the uproar. He took a high-level meeting during the day which was attended, among others, by IT Secretary R S Sharma and Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand. The decision to revoke the original order was taken after that.
With the refusal of the ISPs to play ball, the government will have to take a fresh look into the matter even as it awaits the stance of the Supreme Court on the subject. The apex court had exerted pressure on the government over the easy display of pornographic content, especially those related to children, on the internet.
