Block 827 porn websites, Centre asks internet service providers

Following the Uttarakhand High Court order, the Centre has asked the Department of Telecom (DoT) to block 827 websites that host pornographic content. The Uttarakhand High Court had asked to block 857 websites. The Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity), however, found 30 portals without any pornographic content.

"... all the internet service licensees are instructed to take immediate necessary action for blocking of 827 websites as per the direction from Meity and for the compliance of the Hon'ble High Court order," the DoT said in an order issued to internet service providers.

The high court order was issued on September 27, 2018, and it was received by Meity on October 8. The Meity informed the DoT that the High Court has ordered for blocking 857 websites contained in an old notice of DoT dated July 31, 2015. The DoT had changed its order on August 4, 2015, to ISP saying that the ISPs are free not to disable any of the 857 web links which do not have child pornographic content.  

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“(The government) is directed to suspend the licences of the Internet Service License holders under Section 25 of the Information Technology Act if they fail to comply with the notification,” acting chief justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Manoj Tiwari had said.  

In a notification dated July 31, 2015, the department of information technology had asked the department of telecommunications to deactivate the URLs under the provision of Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act as the content posted on several websites infringed on “morality and decency”.

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“The sites are readily available to the children to view obscene and indecent acts, including pornography. The psyche of the children of impressionable age is also affected, which, at times, results in commission of crimes,” the court observed.