What is the issue all about?
We expect our Government to do a lot of things – But not Ban Blogs. That too Because a Bunch of terrorists exchanged messages on some God forsaken private Blog.
We had two opposing reasons to Believe that the Government would never resort to something like this – 1) They were intelligent 2) They were too stupid to understand Internet
That we are having trouble reaching out to Blogs with *.blogspot.com, *.typepad.com & geocities/* is because our Government officials were both intelligent & stupid at the same time. They were intelligent enough to find out that the terrorists used it to communicate (which I though was pretty clever) but they were also stupid enough to then walk up to the ISPs and say “Block them all!”
If dissuading the terrorists was the idea, why not block the Indian blogs like Redifflogs, Sify blogs, O3 etc? Or for that matter, the other communication platforms on the internet like discussion threads, groups, e-mails, Messengers, online Games (where chat is possible) … one could go on.
I hope this is just a one-off blunder by some official and not a step towards becoming another China. Without Internet I would lose half my life`s purpose. Wonder how it will be for you…
Links related to blog ban in India
Bloggers Collective – Google Group against Blog ban
Wiki – Bloggers Against censorship
ISPs that seemed to have locked *.Blogspot.com
Quotes from Bloggers on the censorship issue
How to by-pass the blog ban in India
Want to join the protesters?
Hot News on the Blog ban in India
Blogs: the new terrorist training ground?
In the days following the deadly train blasts in Mumbai, the Indian government took an unusual security step: it blocked access to blogs. More
India Blocks Websites, Blogs After Terror Attacks
The Indian government has blocked about 20 websites and blogs in India, following suspicions by the country`s intelligence agencies that the sites were likely being used by terrorists to communicate with each another. More
DoT asks ISPs to block 18 websites, blogs post-Mumbai blasts
In the wake of reported shooting up of terror and hate messages on the internet following the deadly Mumbai serial blasts, the Telecom Department has directed all the 150 operational Internet Service Providers to block 18 websites. More
Inept censorship won’t work
A couple of years ago, the government of India decided to ban a Yahoo newsgroup allegedly run by Naga insurgents. In the process, all Yahoo newsgroups were inadvertently blocked, leading to a furore among internet users in India. After about a week, matters were rectified, but the lessons seem not to have been learnt. Now, they have locked the blogs. More
Bloggers criticise jamming of blog sites
The major blog sites including blogspot.com, a site meant to set up new blogs, have been jammed in the last couple of days. It isn’t clear who has blocked these popular sites but unconfirmed reports say the Department of Telecom has issued orders to Internet service providers to block the websites. More
Blogs, websites go blank
Millions of domestic internet users could not access some of the world`s most popular blogs like geocities.com, blogspot.com and typepad.com, as the government ordered a blackout of around 18 sites for publishing content that was ‘anti-national` and ‘against public interest`. More
Indian government blocking access to Blogger Blogs?
Looks like the Indian government is indeed instructing ISPs to block certain blogging networks and that includes the very popular Blogger. As per incoming information, The Department of Telecommunications has sent a notice to ISPs operating in the country to block around 17-18 websites on the internet. More