Seeing as the general perception of the Indian economy is IT services and call centres, switching off Google would be akin to banning the telephone.
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Indian Court says may "block" Google and Facebook, like China
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Re: Indian Court says may "block" Google and Facebook, like China
#12Being an Indian, I can confidently say that neither Facebook nor Google would be blocked..Ever. Unlike China, India is a democratic country and its media is independent from the clutches of the higher authority. Serious objections would be raised from all quarters if the high court decides to go ahead with the ban.
Not being an Indian, I'm surprised at how often the word "defamatory" appears in discussions by Indian government officials and now this court. Is prior restraint an established Indian tradition? Is criticism of government or other public figures out of bounds? If it is, it's difficult to see how the internet could ever be made to conform.
Re: Indian Court says may "block" Google and Facebook, like China
#13Being an Indian, I can confidently say that neither Facebook nor Google would be blocked..Ever. Unlike China, India is a democratic country and its media is independent from the clutches of the higher authority. Serious objections would be raised from all quarters if the high court decides to go ahead with the ban.
Not being an Indian, I'm surprised at how often the word "defamatory" appears in discussions by Indian government officials and now this court. Is prior restraint an established Indian tradition? Is criticism of government or other public figures out of bounds? If it is, it's difficult to see how the internet could ever be made to conform.
As discussed earlier, criticism of government or public figures is not out of bounds. Freedom of speech is very important and everyone values that in India. Print/electronic media is not regulated and they often criticize the government. However, they (especially print media) work under certain moral framework like not making any obscene remarks or vulgar attacks. I believe that is the sticking point for all the authorities in India. If traditional media can follow this "moral framework" then why not the Internet? And to be honest, I'm not sure how many people even understand the concept of user generated content based websites or web 2.0; let alone the inner workings of the Internet.
I fear Internet regulation will be the major theme of 2012. All the major countries are looking ways to regulate it. And its really sad.