An OTT (over-the-top) channel, Vidly TV, based in Pakistan was banned by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) on December 12, 2022, according to a tweet shared by Kanchan Gupta who is a senior adviser to the ministry. He said that the orders were issued, under emergency powers conferred by the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, to block Vidly TV’s website, two mobile apps, four social media accounts, and its app for smart TVs. https://twitter.com/KanchanGupta/status/1602278095712817154 Why it matters: The Indian government regularly issues takedown orders under powers granted to it by the IT Act, 2000, and the IT Rules, but the reasons behind its orders are not always transparent. Moreover, it is not clear what parameters are used to determine whether or not an order can be made public. What else do we know about the latest order: The order was issued after the platform aired an episode of a web series called “Sevak: The Confessions” on November 26, 2022, Gupta revealed in his tweets, adding that the show was “provocative” and “wholly untrue.” The government found the content of the series to be “detrimental to national security, sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, and public order in the country.” Gupta said that the government’s assessment found that the series was “sponsored” allegedly by Pakistan’s “info ops apparatus.” Blocking orders issued under IT Rules in 2022: The full might of powers granted to the Union government under…
