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Friday, March 22, 2013

Internet can’t be governed, Sibal says

Union communications and information technology minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday said that the internet was a necessity in India and an important medium that gave a chance to people to be heard. 

"The internet is necessary for India ... it gives a chance for the voiceless to be heard," said Sibal at Google Big Tent, an event in Delhi. "Internet is the most important and transformative forum." 

He said, "Internet governance to me is an oxymoron. How can you govern anybody on the net, you cannot. The net must govern itself ... It's a platform where we need to talk to each other on a daily basis. And also adhere to certain rules of the game. You cannot play cricket without rules, you cannot play baseball without rules." 

Sibal's comments came at a time when Indian government was facing a criticism over its perceived attempts to censor the web and social media. Last year the government reportedly asked Twitter to block certain accounts as well as told Google to remove a few YouTube videos. 

Google's data reveals that the number of requests that Indian authorities make, asking the company to remove data, is increasing. In the first half of the last year, Indian authorities made 596 requests to Google for removal of content. In comparison, only 255 such requests were made in the second half of 2011. In the second half of 2012, Indian government made 2,431 requests to Google to get information on 4,106 users and accounts. 

Sibal, however, assured that the government was committed to the freedom of the web users. "We are wedded to the freedom of expression and will do nothing to diminish that freedom," he said. 

The minister also talked about enabling easy access to the web for all Indians and said the government would connect 1,55,000 post offices in India electronically. 

Sibal's comments, however, did not impress India's netizens. On Twitter, people claimed his government's record in upholding freedom of speech on the web had not been stellar. 

"Kapil Sibal says govt believes internet is a liberating forum for transformation of country. We are wedded 2 freedom ... subject to 66-A limit?" tweeted a Twitter user. The user was referring to the Article 66A of the Indian IT Act that has been used by the police recently to book people critical of politicians.

Source:-The Times of India

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