#IndiaBlocks - We don’t need SOPA / PIPA for censorship

India doesn’t need SOPA / PIPA for censorship. It can block anything on web. There is supposedly a draconian IT Rules 2011 amendment, but even that is not required / followed for blocking anything the government does not like. They don’t need SOPA / PIPA / even follow their own legislated IT Rules to block stuff on web. Yes, we are cool like that.

For the first time, Wikipedia article gets blocked through a DoT order. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Muslims_in_Burma is not accessible if you are in India. Reading 2012_Assam_violence and Internet_Censorship_in_India will give some background.

Both the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court have rejected petitions to unblock the content. Internet Freedom is progressing in a worrying direction