There were no verifiable or centralised records of internet shutdowns in the country, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information ...
There were no verifiable or centralised records of internet shutdowns in the country, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology said on Tuesday, reported The Hindu.
In its report, the panel, led by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, said that neither the Union Ministry of Home Affairs nor the Department of Telecom maintain a record on internet shutdowns across the country, unidentified officials told The Hindu.
A report published by digital rights and privacy organisation Access Now in March had shown that India had the highest number of internet shutdowns in the world in 2020. Of the total 155 internet shutdowns globally, India alone accounted for 109, according to the report.
It was the third consecutive year that India had topped the global chart on this matter.
In its report, the parliamentary committee also noted that there were no rules to dictate these shutdowns, unidentified officials told The Hindu.
It said that “public safety” and “public emergencies” – the grounds on which government impose internet shutdowns – have not been clearly defined. This has reduced the clampdown to a “routine policing and administrative tool”, according to The Hindu.
Unidentified officials told The Indian Express that said the panel wanted the government to set up a mechanism to review the impact and effect of internet shutdowns.
The report cited the example of situation in Jammu and...
