We missed this earlier. The government blocked 844 social media pages from January to November 2015, reports NDTV. Out of 844, 492 web pages were blocked under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. In comparison, the government blocked 10 URLs in 2014, 13 in 2013 and 136 in 2012 social media websites. In addition, 352 URLs were blocked in compliance with court orders in India till 30th November, 2015. Courts had ordered blocks on 533 URLs in 2013 and 432 in 2014. Total number of blocked social media links stood at 352. Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000 lets the government block online public access information in the interest of sovereignty, integrity and security of India, friendly relations with foreign states, public order and preventing incitement of cognisable offences related to above. Failing to comply with the directions of the Act leads to imprisonment for up to 7 years, along with a fine. It's worth noting that the government treats anti-religious content the same way it would treat content falling in any of the above categories. (Also read: Is India’s website-blocking law constitutional?) Section 66A arrests: In related news, the Indian Express reports that the maximum cases filed under Section 66A of the IT Act, 2000 came from Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. The section, which was struck down as unconstitutional in March 2015 by the Supreme Court, was used by the police to book people who sent “offensive” messages through computers or mobile devices and tablets. Likewise, in…
