India: government blocks blogs without explanation

Posted by John Burke on July 20, 2006 at 10:00 AM

In the wake of last week's bombings in Mumbai, the Indian government has asked service providers to block access to blog sites giving no reasons for its demands. Indian bloggers are up in arms comparing their government to regimes in China and Saudi Arabia and citing the request as "a dangerous precedent" for Indian democracy.

Two explanations leaked from government sources claimed that blog platforms were being walled off "due to security reasons" and "spreading anti-national sentiments." Other speculation thought that access to blogs may have been cut because terrorists could use them to organize further attacks.

Despite the ban, bloggers are still finding ways to get around it. Some Internet providers have not complied with government wishes and other sites have sprung up that act as a "gateway" to reading blocked blogs.

Source: International Herald Tribune

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