Adult Websites Will Be Banned; If Not, Internet Service Providers May Lose License!

[Updated As On October 25th, 2018: Adult websites will be banned by Jio, Airtel, Vodafone-Idea, BSNL. Govt. has ordered all 827 websites to be banned. Read this news here.]

The intense debate regarding access to adult websites in India has once again been triggered. This time, a High Court has ordered all Internet Service Providers to immediately ban adult websites, across India.

If they fail to do so, then their license can be canceled!

High Court’s Latest Order On Adult Websites!

While hearing a recent case of molestation in a school at Dehradun, the bench at Uttarakhand High Court comprising of acting chief justice Rajiv Sharma and justice Manoj Tiwari has asked the Centre Govt. to strictly implement a blanket ban on adult websites.

The Bench observed: “Unlimited access to these adult sites is required to be blocked/curbed to avoid an adverse influence on the impressionable minds of children.”

This new order regarding adult ban means that Centre will have to inform all Internet Service Providers regarding the adult websites ban and implement the same.

But Why Adult Website Ban Order Has Come Up?

The case which Uttrakhand High Court is hearing right now, relates to the recent molestation of a schoolgirl, by her seniors.

As per the statements issued by the culprits, they watched adult clips on their mobiles before doing the criminal act.

As per the Bench of Uttarakhand High Court, this clearly means that adult content has inspired the youths to commit the crime.

Hence, banning adult content seems the solution for the Judges.

Can ISPs Lose Their License Over Adult Websites?

Yes, as per Section 25 of the Information Technology Act 2000, ISPs can lose their license, if they don’t comply with the order.

However, to understand why we need to go back a bit.

On August 3rd, 2015, that is three years back, Govt. of India had passed a notification which ordered all ISPs to ban adult content with immediate effect. Around 857 adult websites were ordered to be banned, and ISPs were duly informed.

However, the Govt. faced massive backlash over this issue and were criticized for banning adult websites. Some even described this as Talibanization of the Internet.

After two days, a new notification was issued; and this time, the responsibility for the adult website ban was passed over to the Internet Service Provider.

As per the new notification issued on August 5th, 2015, ISPs were asked to identify which adult sites hosted illegal content, and were ordered to shut them down.

Since then, no concrete action has been taken.

Now, the Uttrakhand High Court has come out with this order, citing the 2015 notification from Govt.

ISPs are now in a fix – To ban, or not to ban?

We will keep you updated, as we receive more updates.

Do you think that adult websites lead to molestation? Do share your viewpoint, and opinions, by commenting right here!

[Updated As On October 25th, 2018: Adult websites will be banned by Jio, Airtel, Vodafone-Idea, BSNL. Govt. has ordered all 827 websites to be banned. Read this news here.]

Image: oneIndia.com