NEW DELHI: India is seeking to arm itself with the power to block Twitter
and other social networking sites in select states and regions, but may
find it difficult to do so as telecom companies and Internet service
providers (ISPs) say this is technologically almost unfeasible and will
involve huge expenditure.
The government has asked ISPs and mobile phone firms to build 'embedded technologies' that will enable it to ban social media
and other websites in specific geographies, said a senior home ministry
official. The move comes after the government's recent attempt to block
Twitter in select regions in the country failed as telcos said they
lacked the technology to bar websites on a state-by-state basis.
On August 23, the home ministry had asked the information technology ministry to direct ISPs and telcos to block Twitter in eight states - Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh - amid concerns that the popular social networking website was being used to fan communal tensions in the wake of the unrest following violence in the border districts of Assam.
But the Twitter ban order was not implemented after telcos said they could only block websites and social networking sites on a national basis. There are than 16 million Twitter accounts in India.
On August 23, the home ministry had asked the information technology ministry to direct ISPs and telcos to block Twitter in eight states - Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh - amid concerns that the popular social networking website was being used to fan communal tensions in the wake of the unrest following violence in the border districts of Assam.
But the Twitter ban order was not implemented after telcos said they could only block websites and social networking sites on a national basis. There are than 16 million Twitter accounts in India.
"Tata Communications does not allocate IP (internet protocol) address to
its customers on a state-wise basis and hence there is no IP address
range specific to any of the states in India. Specific area-wise or
state-wise blocking of websites is technologically not feasible," the
company told the IT ministry.
Bharti Airtel said websites could only be blocked at its two gateways in Mumbai and Chennai, the points where cyber traffic enters and exits the country, and added this would result in the particular website being inaccessible on a national level.
BSNL, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications as well as the Internet Service Providers Association sent similar replies to the IT ministry earlier this month.
The telcos' stance has not cut much ice with the home ministry. Justifying the need for system that enables regional ban on social media, a top home ministry official said this would help the government 'contain any such action to just a limited source or targeted area rather than an overall ban across the country'.
"This is an extreme step if everything fails. We need to sensitise all infrastructure providers to such issues on internal security and have asked the telecom department to work on the cost benefits for creating additional telecom architecture," the official added.
Executives with three different telcos confirmed the IT and telecom ministry had asked them to build technologies to block websites on a regional basis, but said the industry's stance remained unchanged as this could not be technically executed.
Bharti Airtel said websites could only be blocked at its two gateways in Mumbai and Chennai, the points where cyber traffic enters and exits the country, and added this would result in the particular website being inaccessible on a national level.
BSNL, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications as well as the Internet Service Providers Association sent similar replies to the IT ministry earlier this month.
The telcos' stance has not cut much ice with the home ministry. Justifying the need for system that enables regional ban on social media, a top home ministry official said this would help the government 'contain any such action to just a limited source or targeted area rather than an overall ban across the country'.
"This is an extreme step if everything fails. We need to sensitise all infrastructure providers to such issues on internal security and have asked the telecom department to work on the cost benefits for creating additional telecom architecture," the official added.
Executives with three different telcos confirmed the IT and telecom ministry had asked them to build technologies to block websites on a regional basis, but said the industry's stance remained unchanged as this could not be technically executed.
Source : The Economic Times , Sept 8, 2012
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