Over 36,800 URLs blocked by Indian government since 2018
Over the past five years, the Indian government has blocked a whopping 36,838 URLs, as revealed by Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar. In a written response to CPI(M)'s John Brittas in the Rajya Sabha, Chandrasekhar explained that these URLs were blocked under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. This act allows the government to block access to information for reasons such as national security, public order, and preventing cognizable offenses.
X saw maximum number of URLs blocked
Interestingly, X previously known as Twitter, had the highest number of blocked URLs between 2018 and October 2023, totaling 13,660. Other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube had varying numbers of blocked URLs. The values stood at 10,197 for Facebook, Instagram (3,023), and YouTube (5,759). The year 2020 saw the most URLs blocked, standing at 9,849.
Discrepancy in URL blocking data
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology reported that 6,118 URLs were blocked in 2021. However, an RTI response to SFLC.in in June 2022 stated that 6,096 URLs were blocked, per Hindustan Times. Similarly, the ministry reported on Friday that 6,935 URLs were blocked in 2022. In contrast, Chandrasekhar said in Lok Sabha on August 2 that the Centre had issued directions for blocking 6,096, 6,775, and 3,470 URLs in the years 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively.
