​Digital exile, Pg6

Key Highlights:

• Social media accounts of activists and journalists criticizing the government were recently blocked.
• From 2014-2021, blocked URLs, posts, and accounts increased from 470 to 9,800.
• The government used IT Rules to block links to a BBC documentary in 2023.
• The Karnataka High Court dismissed Twitter's plea challenging blocking orders and imposed a fine.

Detailed Insights:

• The Supreme Court's Shreya Singhal (2015) judgment upheld Section 69A of the IT Act 2000 due to procedural safeguards.
• The government uses Rule 16 of the 2009 Blocking Rules to maintain confidentiality, hindering legal challenges.
• The review committee for blocking orders is an executive body that has never overturned a government order.
• Decentralizing blocking powers to multiple Ministries could lead to arbitrary censorship.
• Blocking an entire account results in digital exile, characteristic of authoritarian governance.
• Government actions are seen as bypassing the right to be heard and violating the doctrine of proportionality.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Section 69A of the IT Act 2000: Empowers the government to block online content in the interest of national security.
• Rule 16 of the 2009 Blocking Rules: Requires blocking proceedings to be confidential.
• Doctrine of Proportionality: Ensures government actions are proportionate to the objective.

Digital Block