[Reader-list] Internet Censorship and the Indian State - Sarai Independent Fellowship 2007 (First post)

[Shivam Vij]

> I'd be really
> interested in comments and ideas, especially with regards sources of
> information that any of you might think may be useful.

Dear Raman,

I have worked on internet censorship off and on. You can find some of
my articles here: http://del.icio.us/goalduniya/censorship

There have been other Sarai Fellows in the past who have worked on the
subject but your proposal is a relief to me insofar as it seems to
want to go beyond what is already documented.

A lot of the focus on internet censorship is shifting to Orkut. You
might want to consider Orkut in Maharashtra - Google says it has now
condescended to opening a direct line of communication with the Mumbai
Police.

The first case against Orkut was filed by a law student like you
against I-Hate-India communities on Orkut, put up by Pakistanis. All
the media reported it, and some had the sense to search Orkut for
anti-Pak communities put up by Indians - and these outnumbered the
ones Pakistanis had put up against India!

I searched Orkut for the petitioner's name and tracked him down. I
asked him: so what about anti-Pak communities? He said that if
Pakistan had appropriate law, Pakistanis are free to go to their
courts against Orkut. I couldn't believe it: the guy was just playing
with the bare acts.

A lot of the reaction against this in the blogosphere was the typical
oh-we-are-becoming-China hysteria. Hopefully, the courts will throw
out these cases against Orkut.

You may also want to consider difficult cases where users demand
censorship or some kind of moderation - identity theft for instance.
At some point cyber crime and internet censorship do come in conflict.

best
shivam