{"id":193742,"date":"2020-01-10T10:51:25","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T07:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ww-vb.mine.nu\/w108\/indias-apex-court-says-indefinite-internet-shutdowns-violate-rules\/"},"modified":"2020-01-10T10:51:25","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T07:51:25","slug":"indias-apex-court-says-indefinite-internet-shutdowns-violate-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/indias-apex-court-says-indefinite-internet-shutdowns-violate-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"India’s apex court says indefinite internet shutdowns violate rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In a landmark judgment, India\u2019s\u00a0Supreme Court said indefinite internet shutdowns violate\u00a0the country\u2019s laws concerning freedom of speech and expression.\u00a0The government must pass an order describing the reason and duration of the shutdown each time it wishes to implement this action. However, the order won\u2019t directly affect the ongoing internet shutdown in\u00a0Kashmir at this time.<\/p>\n

The court decided that the Indian\u00a0government has to produce a restrictive order detailing the shut down within a week. For now, people in the region of Kashmir will be still offline.<\/p>\n

The bench said the internet is a major part of citizens\u2019 rights that guarantee\u00a0freedom of expression. It added\u00a0the government can only shut down the internet as an extreme measure. Plus, such an order will draw judicial scrutiny. Internet Freedom Foundation, a local nonprofit that fights to secure digital rights for people in India, explained this in a tweet thread:<\/p>\n

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3. Internet shutdowns cannot be ordered to suppress speech unless there is incitement to violence or similar reasons. Reasonableness of S. 144 orders must be assessed based on territorial reach, nature of restrictions and time period.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) (@internetfreedom) January 10, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Additionally, local authorities can\u2019t issue section 144 \u2014 which imposes a\u00a0curfew in a territory and makes the gathering of four or more people illegal \u2014 to shut down internet or crack down on\u00a0dissent online.<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0Software Freedom Law Centre, India\u2019s\u00a0internetshutdowns.in \u2014 a website that keeps a track of internet blackouts in India \u2014 the government blocked internet access 106 times last year. The longest\u00a0\u2014 and still ongoing\u00a0\u2014\u00a0shutdown is in Kashmir; it was imposed\u00a0effect last August to supposedly control the law and order situation there, after the center scrapped Article 370\u00a0and stripped the region of its autonomy from central rule.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>Internet shutdowns in India<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Internet shutdowns not only deprive people of the ability to stay connected with each other, but they also draw in financial losses, and they don\u2019t work as intended. A report published by Firstpost last month, noted telecom operators lose $1 million every three hours in all 22 circles they operate in during internet shutdown.<\/p>\n

A recent study released by top10VPN, a VPN comparison site, suggests internet shutdowns cost India $1.3 billion last year.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n