wordpress blog stats
Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

No report available on economic cost of internet shutdowns in India: Telecom Dept in Parliament

The government claims that the Ministry of Home Affairs does not maintain national level data on internet shutdowns.

no internet
Credit: Aditi Agrawal

“The contribution of internet for the well-being of citizens has to be balanced with social media platforms being misused by anti-social elements requiring temporary internet shutdowns, as per the rules based on the assessment by Local (State/UT Government) Authorities,” says the Indian government when Parliament members asked whether suspension of telecom services goes against Digital India schemes. On March 29, 2023, in view of the recent internet suspensions in India, members of Parliament asked the Ministry of Communications and the IT Ministry about the following: Data on internet suspensions in India in the last five and nine years. The IT Ministry was asked for the reasons for such shutdowns. Whether or not the authorities are following the Supreme Court’s (SC) guidelines on internet suspensions laid out in Anuradha Bhasin v Union of India. Whether or not the government has taken cognizance of the economic impact caused by suspension of telecom services and the ways in which it affects individual privacy. Why it matters: By now, India is known as the internet shutdown capital of the world, as per data provided by digital rights organizations like Access Now and Software Freedom Law Center. Also, Parliament members as well as Courts are scrutinizing the frequency and manner in which telecom services are being suspended for reasons ranging from apprehensions of a law and order situation to cheating in exams. Lack of official data also means that there is not enough clarity on the actual number of shutdowns, its economic cost and impact…

Please subscribe/login to read the full story.
Written By

Curious about the intersection of technology with education, caste and welfare rights. For story tips, please feel free to reach out at sarasvati@medianama.com

Free Reads

News

With GPS in every car, India's toll collection is going high-tech.

News

Google is currently undergoing the necessary procedures for the leasehold land, which is presently under the ownership of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation.

News

The pilot project for which is being launched in 19 cities this year, with a plan to launch a full-fledged rollout next year.

MediaNama’s mission is to help build a digital ecosystem which is open, fair, global and competitive.

Views

News

NPCI CEO Dilip Asbe recently said that what is not written in regulations is a no-go for fintech entities. But following this advice could...

News

Notably, Indus Appstore will allow app developers to use third-party billing systems for in-app billing without having to pay any commission to Indus, a...

News

The existing commission-based model, which companies like Uber and Ola have used for a long time and still stick to, has received criticism from...

News

Factors like Indus not charging developers any commission for in-app payments and antitrust orders issued by India's competition regulator against Google could contribute to...

News

Is open-sourcing of AI, and the use cases that come with it, a good starting point to discuss the responsibility and liability of AI?...

You May Also Like

News

Google has released a Google Travel Trends Report which states that branded budget hotel search queries grew 179% year over year (YOY) in India, in...

Advert

135 job openings in over 60 companies are listed at our free Digital and Mobile Job Board: If you’re looking for a job, or...

News

By Aroon Deep and Aditya Chunduru You’re reading it here first: Twitter has complied with government requests to censor 52 tweets that mostly criticised...

News

Rajesh Kumar* doesn’t have many enemies in life. But, Uber, for which he drives a cab everyday, is starting to look like one, he...

MediaNama is the premier source of information and analysis on Technology Policy in India. More about MediaNama, and contact information, here.

© 2008-2021 Mixed Bag Media Pvt. Ltd. Developed By PixelVJ

Subscribe to our daily newsletter
Name:*
Your email address:*
*
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

© 2008-2021 Mixed Bag Media Pvt. Ltd. Developed By PixelVJ