32 websites including DailyMotion, Vimeo, Archive.Org blocked

Ahmedabad, DeshGujarat

Some outrage is already on so far as social media sites are concerned on this move. Department of Telecommunications, Government of India has ordered to block 32 websites including some popular and useful websites like Archive.org, Github, Dailymotion and Vimeo.Com.

The government has taken this step under the powers conferred by section 69A of the Information Technology(IT) act, 2000 and under the IT act Rules, 2009. The government has asked all the internet service licensees to immediately block the access to URLs of 32 websites.

There’s no official version available at this point of time on why these websites are blocked. The notification, copy of which is attached with this article was issued on 17 December, 2014.

However, national Head of BJP India IT Cell Arvind Gupta today tweeted, the websites that have been blocked were based on an advisory by the Anti Terrorism Squad, as they were carrying Anti India content from ISIS. He tweeted: The websites that have been blocked were based on an advisory by Anti Terrorism Squad, and were carrying Anti India content from ISIS. The sites that have removed objectionable content and/or cooperated with the on going investigations, are being unblocked.

Author’s note:

We checked through BSNL and Vodafone services and in all three platforms, these websites are unavailable. On BSNL when checked, the webpage of Archive.Org said: The server at www.archive.org can’t be found, because the DNS lookup failed. DNS is the network service that translates a website’s name to its Internet address. This error is most often caused by having no connection to the Internet or a misconfigured network. It can also be caused by an unresponsive DNS server or a firewall preventing Google Chrome from accessing the network.
Error code: DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN

PTI reports

Govt blocks websites carrying anti-India content from ISIS

New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) Indian government has blocked 32 websites citing national security concerns, as they were allegedly carrying anti-India material from terror groups such as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria).

“We have blocked some websites, as there were serious national security concerns,” a government official.

The websites that have faced the crackdown include popular video sharing platforms like DailyMotion and Vimeo, while some of them have been allowed to function after removing the objectionable content.

The website were purportedly containing material about Areeb Majid, an alleged ISIS member who was arrested by NIA, and three others hailing from North Karnataka’s Bhatkal area.

Sources said the websites were being used to induce Indian youth to join ISIS and for spreading news about purported death of certain persons while fighting Allied Forces in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq.

Another senior official said the crackdown followed an order from Mumbai Court, which was approached by Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) with a plea to block some websites carrying anti-India content.

During its probe into certain terror cases, the ATS had received information that some websites were carrying anti-national content, the official added.

Meanwhile, BJP’s IT Cell National Head Arvind Gupta also said the websites have been blocked on the advice of ATS as they were carrying material from the ISIS.

“The websites that have been blocked were based on an advisory by Anti Terrorism Squad, and were carrying anti-India content from ISIS,” Gupta said in a tweet.

He further said: “The sites that have removed objectionable content and/or cooperated with the ongoing investigations are being unblocked.”

A list of 32 websites, purported to be a Department of Telecom (DoT) circular, also went viral on the micro-blogging site Twitter on Wednesday. While there was no official word from the ministry, sources within the department confirmed existence of such a circular.

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