Talking about ghosts of the past… the Department of Telecom has - once again - implemented a ban on over 800 pornographic websites. Resurrected from the (somewhat) tightly shut and forgotten crypt of 2015, the Uttarakhand High Court ordered the IT Ministry to enforce the ban of 857 porn websites earlier this month. Bear in mind that the ban was implemented to “avoid adverse influence on the impressionable mind of the children.” Internet service providers which did not comply with the order would have their licenses terminated, the court said. We’d pointed out in the past that this order was vaguely worded and that it was up to the ISPs to implement it. Uttarakhand HC: Acting on its own accord The Uttarakhand High Court acted on its own to revive the order — it issued this order suo motu. Pointing to rape incidents, the court argued that porn access was key in enabling such behaviour. The order does not mention that the government withdrew its 2015 circular, nor does it cite any evidence for the link between consumption of pornography and the perpetration of sexual assault. Also read: Indian Govt's order to block porn in India fails the "Clear and Present Danger" test Pornhub creates a different website for Indian users In response to Pornhub getting censored and blocked in India, our fans there can now fully access the site at https://t.co/xWrwXOE5sX — Pornhub ARIA (@Pornhub) October 26, 2018 Scroll reported that some users could access the banned websites by…
