Government asks internet service companies to block pornography sites, upgrade systems

Blocking Internet porn may be next to impossible. But the Indian government is going to try anyhow.

The plan is to begin by creating a list of pornography sites, especially those hosting child porn, and provide that to Internet service providers (ISPs) to block. And then, to ensure that large-scale blocking does not slow Internet access, service providers will be asked to upgrade their infrastructure. The India has been asked to curate the list.

At a meeting chaired by Telecom & IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and attended by top government officials in September, the “problem of porn” was discussed and the minister directed the departments of IT and telecom to work together to improve “blocking infrastructure” at the ISP level.

Prasad said although porn is legal in other countries, it needs to be viewed in the “context of Indian culture and moral obligation towards society”.
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