The Indian government on Monday in
New Delhi, told internet service providers and telecom operators in the country
to block 857 pornographic websites.
The directive came after the Supreme
Court in July expressed concern, over the Home Ministry’s failure to block
websites, featuring child pornography.
The official said the move was not a
ban since several such websites were still available, and also through Virtual
Private Networks and proxy servers.
“This is an interim measure as the
government contemplates building up a regulatory framework, which could include
various measures, including mass awareness”, the source said.
Telecom executives told local media
it would take a few days to block all the websites.
Meanwhile, some users complained that the conservative and prudish move by the Hindu nationalist government ran counter to the Supreme Court’s position protecting the right of adults to access the internet.
Meanwhile, some users complained that the conservative and prudish move by the Hindu nationalist government ran counter to the Supreme Court’s position protecting the right of adults to access the internet.
“Watching porn is legal in India,
although distribution and sale of pornographic material is illegal”, one of the
users said.
Local media cited data from Pornhub,
one of the world’s largest porn content providers as saying Indians were among
the most “prolific consumers” of internet porn, accounting for 40 per cent of
its 14.2 billion visits.
Indian filmmaker, Ram Gopal Varma,
said that given its level of popularity, any government that embraced a ban on
pornography would lose the next election.
“To ban porn, saying it will be seen by who shouldn’t see it, is like saying to stop traffic because there will be accidents”, he said. (Xinhua/NAN)
“To ban porn, saying it will be seen by who shouldn’t see it, is like saying to stop traffic because there will be accidents”, he said. (Xinhua/NAN)
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