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How fake government orders can trigger online censorship in India

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How fake government orders can trigger online censorship in India

A Reuters investigation into 129 betting websites blocked on the basis of two purportedly fake High Court orders has exposed vulnerabilities in India's online content takedown system. Digital rights experts Apar Gupta and Mishi Choudhary say the lack of transparency, inadequate verification and pressure on social media platforms to comply with government requests have created conditions in which fraudulent orders can lead to censorship.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) directed internet service providers to block 129 illegal betting websites in July and September, citing two purported High Court orders, one from Rajasthan and the other from Allahabad. However, neither order appeared in the records of the respective courts, according to the Reuters investigation.

The Rajasthan High Court's registrar told Reuters that the order “appears to be fraudulent”, while the Allahabad High Court filed a police complaint, following which a case of forgery and cheating was registered against unknown persons. Both directives were still available on the ministry's website as of Wednesday, the Reuters report said.

The incident is not isolated. Social media platform X recently told the Delhi High Court that takedown notices issued in the name of the Delhi Police, targeting the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) and the Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC.in), had been sent by an impostor.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Gupta, Founder Director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, and Choudhary, Founder of the Software Freedom Law Centre, said the incidents point to deeper problems in the way online content takedown requests are processed. They highlighted how limited disclosure, unclear reasoning in orders and tight compliance deadlines make it difficult to establish whether a request is genuine before action is taken.


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