India's government blocks the Internet Archive

[midian182]

While India’s control over the internet isn’t nearly as extreme as places like China, the country has, on previous occasions, denied access to certain websites, including GitHub, Vimeo, and Wordpress. But the government’s recent blocking of The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine came as a surprise, and it still hasn’t explained why it took the decision.

MediaNama reports that the block appeared suddenly and without any warning. Not everyone in the country has lost access, but users with major ISPs such as Airtel and MTNL are being met with the following the message when visiting the site: “Your requested URL has been blocked as per the directions received from the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India. Please contact administrator for more information.”

The move has sparked outrage, with many citizens accusing the government of inexplicable censorship. India Today called the block “nothing but an attempt to obfuscate information.”

The Wayback Machine has been capturing screenshots of websites for the past two decades, and has over 302 billion web pages saved in its archives. It's particularly useful for preserving statements from politicians and authority figures, especially when the original reports are deleted.

Chris Butler, Office Manager at the Internet Archive, said the organization tried to contact the Indian Department of Telecom (DoT) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity), but received no response. "Obviously, we are disappointed and concerned by this situation and are very eager to understand why it's happening and see full access restored," he added.

Speaking to the BBC, Shambhu Choudhary, the director of the Indian government's Press Information Bureau, said: "Courts and security agencies do block certain websites and the reasons are sometimes not disclosed. These are based on directives from security agencies"

Back in 2014, India blocked 32 popular sites, including Daily Motion and the Internet Archive. It claimed they were being used for Jihadi propaganda.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/70501-india-government-blocks-internet-archive.html

 

[EClyde]

If Obama had done it..he be praised

 

[treetops]

If Obama had done it..he be praised

Your obsession with politics is sickening.

 

[bmw95]

Guys this isn't Youtube. Relax.

 

[J spot]

If Obama had done it..he be praised

The furthest thing from my mind as I read the article was Obama, and I suspect that's the case with the rest here.

Wish means that you probably spend a good amount of energy thinking about Obama everyday.

It's similar to when a person goes to see a shrink a they show them those blank cue cards with random black spot and ask them what they see, and if in love with a girl, they always see the girl because she's always on their mind.

So I suggest completely and utterly remove yourself from any political exposure. Block the political websites that you frequent. You're not going to change anybody's mind about politics the way you are at the moment, but you can greatly improve your life if you get away from that.

 

[psycros]

If Obama had done it..he be praised

As I recall he *was* praised by a number of leftist screwballs for jokingly (?) suggesting that he might have to revoke Fox News' broadcast license. So your viewpoint isn't without precedent.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

If Obama had done it..he be praised

As I recall he *was* praised by a number of leftist screwballs for jokingly (?) suggesting that he might have to revoke Fox News' broadcast license. So your viewpoint isn't without precedent.

To be fair, the right wing nuts would praise trump for years if he did the same to CNN or MSNBC. Typical voters can be baited to support just about anything as long as it is "us VS them" politics.

If Obama had done it..he be praised

Why would liberals be happy about blocking the wayback machine? That doesnt fit party politics at all. In fact, it doesnt really serve any purpose but to throw their gentleman's vegetables around and claim how powerful they are.

Perhaps you are a bit infatuated with our former commander-in-chief? You think about him an awful lot.

 

[Uncle Al]

India usually has geo-political reasons for such practices so this is a bit strange. They are not in the middle of a major election, which adds to the mystery. Not to worry, it will come out soon ... they have never been terribly good at keeping secrets ....

 

[EClyde]

The furthest thing from my mind as I read the article was Obama, and I suspect that's the case with the rest here.

Wish means that you probably spend a good amount of energy thinking about Obama everyday.

It's similar to when a person goes to see a shrink a they show them those blank cue cards with random black spot and ask them what they see, and if in love with a girl, they always see the girl because she's always on their mind.

So I suggest completely and utterly remove yourself from any political exposure. Block the political websites that you frequent. You're not going to change anybody's mind about politics the way you are at the moment, but you can greatly improve your life if you get away from that.

I'm so mortified

 

[EClyde]

To be fair, the right wing nuts would praise trump for years if he did the same to CNN or MSNBC. Typical voters can be baited to support just about anything as long as it is "us VS them" politics.


Why would liberals be happy about blocking the wayback machine? That doesnt fit party politics at all. In fact, it doesnt really serve any purpose but to throw their gentleman's vegetables around and claim how powerful they are.

Perhaps you are a bit infatuated with our former commander-in-chief? You think about him an awful lot.

I just like to treat liberals in a fashion they embrace. I even used one of their catch words

 

[EClyde]

Your obsession with politics is sickening.

Your obsession with my obsession is sickening