The government today reviewed its order to block websites and decided to lift ban on those sites which did not contain pornographic material. The decision followed a review of the earlier order, wherein the Department of Telecom and IT had asked Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block 857 websites. Of the blocked websites, some were found to be hosting jokes, memes and other humorous content without any pornography. The directive has sparked a raging debate on social media and other platforms with the government being accused of indulging into Internet censorship. <br/><br/>Telecom and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told PTI that it was decided that the ISPs would be immediately asked not to block those sites which do not contain pornographic material. Explaining the rationale behind the original directive, Mr. Prasad said the instant action is basically in obedience to the observation of the Supreme Court where the court had asked the IT department to take action on the list of alleged porn sites. He said the NDA government is committed for freedom of communication on the Internet.

The government today reviewed its order to block websites and decided to lift ban on those sites which did not contain pornographic material. The decision followed a review of the earlier order, wherein the Department of Telecom and IT had asked Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block 857 websites. Of the blocked websites, some were found to be hosting jokes, memes and other humorous content without any pornography. The directive has sparked a raging debate on social media and other platforms with the government being accused of indulging into Internet censorship. <br/><br/>Telecom and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told PTI that it was decided that the ISPs would be immediately asked not to block those sites which do not contain pornographic material. Explaining the rationale behind the original directive, Mr. Prasad said the instant action is basically in obedience to the observation of the Supreme Court where the court had asked the IT department to take action on the list of alleged porn sites. He said the NDA government is committed for freedom of communication on the Internet.