Internet Shutdown: Telecom Department has no record of internet shutdown, parliamentary committee imposed class
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Internet shutdown: Expressing concern over frequent internet shutdowns in the country, a parliamentary committee has pulled up the Department of Telecom. The committee has said that the Department of Telecommunications did not keep any details of internet shutdown cases and also did not act on many of its recommendations.
The Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology tabled the report on ‘Suspension of Telecom and Internet Services and its Impact’ in the Lok Sabha recently. The committee has asked the Department of Telecom to work with the Ministry of Home Affairs on the process of removing it after shutting down the internet.
Rejecting DoT and Home Ministry’s contentions on non-accounting of ‘shutdowns’, committee says it cannot say that ‘police and law and order are government subjects’ and suspension of internet does not amount to crime Is.
The committee said that a centralized database of all internet shutdown cases should be maintained with the Department of Telecom, Ministry of Home Affairs, on the lines that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) under the Ministry of Home Affairs collects information on crimes on a regular basis. These also include communal riots.
According to a media report, between June 2012 and March 2021, the internet was shut down 518 times by the government across the country. This is the highest figure of internet blocking in the world. However, the Department of Telecom and the Ministry of Home Affairs have no mechanism to verify these figures. They do not have any details of orders by states to shut down the internet.
The committee has directed the Department of Telecom and the Ministry of Home Affairs to prepare a database of internet shutdown orders across the country. (with language input)
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