SEM NewsYahoo discussion ban angers Indian users
2003-09-30
A ban imposed upon Yahoo online discussion groups has caused outrage among thousands of Indian users.
All discussion groups across India have been blocked as a result of the ban, following government fears that one forum had links with outlawed separatists.
Yahoo originally refused to impose the ban, leading the Indian government to force ISPs to enforce it instead. An inability to block sub groups resulted in a complete blocking of all forums.
Global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders cite the incident as an example of the danger of Internet censorship:
'Blocking a few web pages can result in the blocking of hundreds of other web pages that have nothing to do with the banned content,' secretary-general Robert Menard told the BBC.
'This is a recurring problem on which we must remain very vigilant,' he added.
Concerns have been voiced that despite the inherent power of ruling bodies the actions of the Indian government are actually illegal.