India seems to be following China's footsteps with a recent proposal to censor the internet space. This proposal comes on the heels of the recent proposal by government to censor news channels during emergency situations that eventually failed to come into effect. Though, the TV censorship was to be initiated only during emergency, the internet will be screened even under normal circumstances.
A Central government officer will be assigned to monitor the websites and news portals and block those materials considered as a threat to national security. The draft rules were prepared by the department of information technology. The rules are drafted under the recent amendments to the information technology (IT) Act. Though the act was passed by Parliament last December, it will not come into effect until the various rules under it are finalized.
According to this rule, every State or Central government department will be able to decide if a certain material relating to its jurisdiction is against the norms. If there is a complaint raised against a web host, the designated officer will give out a judgment after looking into the issue. Though, these new measures can harm the freedom of press, there is a small amount relief in a proposal to set up a review committee.
