Website blocking orders have grown over hundredfold from 2013 to most of 2023, according to a Right to Information (RTI) response obtained by Bihar-based activist Kanhaiya Kumar. Mr. Kumar obtained statistics on website and online post blocking orders issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The Union government issued 62 such orders in 2013, and last year it issued 6,954 such orders till October. This comes even as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) directed Internet service providers (ISPs) to compile Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of servers in India, so as to facilitate blocking them quickly.
The increase in blocking orders has coincided with a massive uptick in Internet use, specifically since mobile data prices fell dramatically in 2016 following the launch of Reliance Jio. The data also reflect blocking orders sent to social media and content firms for specific pages, profiles and videos; however, the IT Ministry refused to provide a breakdown of these statistics, citing confidentiality clause in the blocking rules.
Much of the webpages blocked are likely to be individual posts, videos or profiles — in 2022, the Union government said in response to a parliamentary query, 228 websites were blocked. When other orders, such as those sent directly to social media and online content providers, are factored in, the number for that year is 6,775.
