Government Blocked 36838 URLs on Social Media

Between January 2018 and October 2023, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has removed more than 36,000 URLs from social media platforms. As revealed by Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar in response to CPI(M)’s John Brittas in the Rajya Sabha, a total of 36,838 URLs were banned during this period under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. This is not the first time URLs have been blocked in this manner, in March 2020 the IT Ministry had told the Lok Sabha that 3,635 URLs were blocked in 2019. However, six months later, the number changed to 3,655.

HT’s Report According to , X (formerly Twitter) experienced the highest number of URL blocks during this 70-month period, affecting 13,660 URLs. While X saw a steady increase in blocked URLs, other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube did not show a clear trend.

In 2018, MeitY blocked 2,799 URLs and the number increased to 7,502 by October 2023. The maximum number of URL blocks occurred in 2020 with 9,849.

Section 69A of the IT Act empowers the designated officer, with the approval of the IT Secretary and based on the recommendation of the 69A Blocking Committee, to issue ban orders to intermediaries or government agencies for reasons such as sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, or preventing incitement to a cognizable offence.

The report further states that MeitY reported that 6,118 URLs were blocked in 2021, but an RTI response on SFLC.in in June 2022 stated that 6,096 URLs were blocked. Similarly, on Friday, the ministry reported that 6,935 URLs were blocked in 2022, while two separate responses in the Lok Sabha on August 2, 2023 indicated that 6,775 URLs were blocked in the same year.

Similarly, as mentioned above, in March 2020, the IT Ministry had initially reported 3,635 URLs blocked in 2019, and six months later the number increased to 3,655.