Mindless Internet Censorship by the Government

[manas]

I am unable to access any blogspot.com blog since yesterday and now I am getting slight hints that it is being blocked in India by some ISP's?

Can you access blogspot.com blogs?
If yes then what is your ISP,if no then also what is your ISP?

[Chirag]

Yup I can access blogspot blogs. I use Sancharnet(BSNL) Dial up.

[blueshift]

yes i can too. could u give the links which u say are blocked?

[manas]

Try my blog http://manast.blogspot.com or any other blogspot.com blog.I m not able to access any site on my Ortel.net broadband conn but I am able to access them on my Netone dial up connection.

[tuxfan]

I can access the main blogspot (blogger) site but not your blog. Has it been deleted?

[eagle_y2j]

Ya! my blog is also facing same problem .My frnds from Pakistan,Hyderabad and MTNL triband are saying they can't access ........................................wat to do

[amit_at_stg]

you are right, i too not able to open my blog at blogspot.

[kalpik]

Everything opening fine here.. (Even your blog Manas). BTW me on airtel.

[manas]

See this:
http://www.desipundit.com/2006/07/15...-by-some-isps/

and

http://www.gonomad.com/traveltalesfr...ger-sites.html

Yes manas I am also not able to open your blog. You know I also use Ortel Broadband here, may be our ISP blocking it.

[GNUrag]

I've been reading on linux-india irc channels about the recent unaccessibility of Blogspot.com, Typepad.com blogs. It seems that the ministry of IT has ordered such blockage. Several people have reported about the government agency CERT-IN < http://www.cert-in.org.in > behind this blocking, and has issued notices to several indian isps.

http://jace.seacrow.com/archive/2006...by-indian-isps
http://techbytes.co.in/experimental/...-in-india.html


If you are experiencing connection timeouts while visiting blogspot.com blogs then mention here.

[eagle_y2j]

I m not facing such problem.............. but my friends are saying they can't access my blog.. I m acessing net using BSNL ,but i m confused if ministry of IT has ordered such blockage so y BSNL is not blocking blogspot!.

[whim_gen]

Run...the thought police are here.
An Orwelian nightmare unfolding guys...

But,its strange.
I can access all of them.
Anyway,one can use http://anonymiser.com or any other proxies too.

[drgrudge]

Threads Merged

[GNUrag]

Not all ISPs have implemented the block. As i can see right now, my blogs are not available on Reliance link at TIFR and Exatt connection at home. However they are available on MTNL connection at office.

As of now the reported ISPs blocking Blogspot are:
Reliance, Spectranet, BSNL, Exatt, Bharti

[navjotjsingh]

Please add Sify also to it...Could not access even a single blogspot.com Blog! What rubbish...banning freedom of speech??

[gary4gar]

add bsnl dataone to list also
anyways i always keep 50 tried & tested peoxies handy but what for the vistors they will not use proxy.so we will lose good amount of visitors

[nix]

even i cant access *.blogspot.com
this is ridiculous....first there is talk of conrolling media, then this and god knows what next??

[knight17]

Use proxies as mentioned..
Here is one more
http://www.anonymouse.org
thanks!

[Vishal Gupta]

India blocks Blogger, TypeAd and Geocities blogs and websites

The Indian Government has issued an order to all Indian ISPs for a ban on various blogging sites. While no official release has been made on this front, the reasons being attributed to this ban range from it being a preventive measure to stop sleeper terrorist cells from accessing instructions contained in blogs, to a new measure to try and control the spread of information through blogs. The order was issued by Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The known list of blocked domains is *.blogspot.com, *.typepad.com and geocities.com/*.

It leads me to wonder if this is a case of ISPs overreacting, which would not be the first. Three years ago, they had rather zealously blocked groups.yahoo.com in a similar manner when all they wanted to actually do was to block a particular group. As of now most of the large ISPs have already complied with the DoT order and a large population of Indian bloggers has been cut off from their own blogs. Keep checking back here, as we will post more news on this story whnever available.

Source: http://tech.moneycontrol.com/

Here is a list of Indian ISPs who have already complied with this order.

[gary4gar]

strange bsnl is not there in the list however the blogger does not open in it

[eagle_y2j]

BSNL also started to ban *.blogspot.com!.Tis Govt sucks our right of information....................................... ..........

[kalpik]

Ok.. Even Airtel blocking blogspot now!

[GNUrag]

This news has been published in all major newspapers today. Seems like the media has taken this issue very seriously.

Maybe sometime today i might be able to get my hands on the list of sites that CERT-IN < http://www.cert-in.org.in > has ordered the ministry of IT to block, from a contact who has highly placed contact in a major ISP. I've been told that the list of websites blocked runs into 28 pages..

From the initial guesses it seems that they have setup rules on ISPs routers which block any IP addresses that belong to Blogger, Typepad, Geocities etc..

[Vishal Gupta]

May be in future they BAN forums.

[aadipa]

It is funny to read what some officials said to Hindustan Times

Officials defended the decision saying, “We would like those people to come forward who access these (the 12) radical websites and please explain to us what are they missing from their lives in the absence of these sites.”

[iDope]

As repoted by Rediff.com

Originally Posted by Rediff.com

Are Internet Service Providers blocking blogs?
Shivam Vij
July 17, 2006 19:25 IST

Bloggers in India are getting together to protest against the sudden blocking of popular Google-owned blog-hosting site Blogger by some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Spectranet, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Reliance Powersurfer, Airtel Broadband and Sify.

On July 15, Mridula Dwivedi, a teacher of management studies in Gurgaon first discovered that visiting any blogspot blog -- such as, say Mumbai Help -- returned the message, 'Site Blocked!' Her ISP, Spectranet, confirmed they had blocked some sites based on government directives.

J Grewal, Spectranet's Delhi representative at the National Internet exchange of India, told this reporter that, on July 15, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had sent ISPs a list of sites to be blocked. R H Sharma, senior engineer with MTNL, said the list ran into some 22 pages.

Now, several bloggers have organised themselves into a Bloggers' Collective and are planning to file a Right To Information application to obtain the list.

Anil Saxena of Spectranet confirmed that the list sent by the DoT contained names of particular blogs, but added that Blogspot as a whole had not been blocked. This is contrary to the experience of customers like Dwivedi, who are still unable to view sites hosted on Blogspot, in addition to those on Typepad and Yahoo!'s Geocities. "The list is confidential and I can't make it public," said Saxena.

Under the Information Technology Act, 2000, a body called the Computer Emergency Response Team, or CERT-IN, was created along the lines of similar authorities the world over. Although its main task is in the domain of Internet security, it also oversees Internet censorship under a clause that seeks to ensure 'balanced flow of information.' Any government department seeking a block on any web site has to approach CERT-IN, which then instructs the DoT to block the site after confirming the authenticity of the complaint.

Web sites can be blocked if they contain pornography, speeches of hate, contempt, slander or defamation, or if they promote gambling, racism, violence or terrorism.

"Such sites may be blocked within the provisions of the Fundamental Right to free speech and expression, granted in India's Constitution," said cyber-law expert Praveen Dalal, adding, "If, however, the blocking is arbitrary, unreasonable and unfair, it would be in violation of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India."

The trouble is bloggers don't even know which sites the DoT wants blocked. To make matters worse, ISPs seem to be blocking entire domains on which these blogs are hosted.

In 2003, one of the first things CERT-IN did was to approve the blocking of an obscure mailing list run by a banned militant outfit, the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) of the Khasi tribe in Meghalaya. Ironically, the popularity and visibility of the list went up by leaps and bounds, despite it being blocked by all ISPs. Many could still see the list via email or proxy surfing.

This time, something similar seems to have happened, to not one but three domains. However, CERT-IN's Director, Dr Gulshan Rai, said he was unaware of the problem and would not be able to respond "off-hand". In a telephone interview, he told this reporter, "Somebody must have blocked some sites. What is your problem?"

Bloggers certainly think of it as a problem though, and are all set to react.

Till now I have accepted a lot of wrongs done by the government, the corruption, inefficiency of government agencies and the general state of affairs in this country. I put up with it till now thinking that it hardly affects me and that its not big deal (plus the general tolerant attitude of "chalta hai" us Indians have).

I always thought Internet will be always safe from the government because of their ignorance of it. Internet was the one place left in this country free from government mishandling. Turns out I was wrong. This is going too far.

I am a webmaster and Internet is where I earn my living, get news and information, find entertainment, and even do shopping. I don't want mindless stupid government censorship to destroy the Internet for Indians. This isn't China. Such actions by the government cannot be tolerated. Remember, if you don't do anything now they WILL get bolder and start assuming more control. They can not and should not attempt this as:

1) They do not understand what Internet is and how it works, and will end up messing it up (this incident is an example).
2) Internet should be free of ALL censorship. That's how the Internet works.
3) Internet is bringing in huge amount of revenue (foreign exchange) for Indians and its the best and biggest source of information. More and more people like myself are able to work from home and able to employ themselves and even others. We don't need government interference in it, we are doing well without it.

*What I propose is a Lawsuit against Govt. of India and/or CERT-IN*
First I suggest a RTI application be filed. This will surely help us with the case. Are there any lawyers on here who would like to help? I am ready contribute my time and even some money towards this cause. Those who are interested please post in this thread.

Don't let the government get away with anything. If we don't take an action against this who will? I, for one, cannot continue being a sheep.

"Beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master"

See BloggersCollective

[techno_funky]

cant open any blogs but the blogger.com page can be accessed
MTNLTriband,Mumbai here

[champ_rock]

i also casnt open my blog... its www.jakshay.blogspot.com
i am on sify
does anyone know why is this happening?

[GNUrag]

techno, because blogger.com's ip is 66.102.15.100
and individual blog pages on blogger have an ip 66.102.15.101

they must have enabled IP level blocking.

btw, Coral Cache technique works

http://gnurag.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8080

just add a .nyud.net:8080 to any blocked site you want to access.