India blocks 857 pornographic websites

Graphics from porn websites

The Indian government on Monday in New Delhi, told internet service providers and telecom operators in the country to block 857 pornographic websites. The directive came after the Supreme Court in July expressed concern, over the Home Ministry’s failure to block websites, featuring child pornography.

 

An official said on the condition of anonymity that the original petition, which led to the Supreme Court response in June argued that crimes against women and children were influenced by the proliferation of porn sites.

 

The official said the move was not a ban since several such websites were still available, and also through Virtual Private Networks and proxy servers. “This is an interim measure as the government contemplates building up a regulatory framework, which could include various measures, including mass awareness”, the source said.

 

Telecom executives told local media it would take a few days to block all the websites. Meanwhile, some users complained that the conservative and prudish move by the Hindu nationalist government ran counter to the Supreme Court’s position protecting the right of adults to access the internet. “Watching porn is legal in India, although distribution and sale of pornographic material is illegal”, one of the users said.

 

Local media cited data from Pornhub, one of the world’s largest porn content providers as saying Indians were among the most “prolific consumers” of internet porn, accounting for 40 per cent of its 14.2 billion visits. Indian filmmaker, Ram Gopal Varma, said that given its level of popularity, any government that embraced a ban on pornography would lose the next election.

 

“To ban porn, saying it will be seen by who shouldn’t see it, is like saying to stop traffic because there will be accidents”, he said. (Xinhua/NAN)