India puts ban on 857 adult websites; faces criticism

India has ordered hundreds of porn sites blocked citing 'objectionable' content, a government official said Monday, kicking off an angry row about freedom of speech in the world's biggest democracy.

The telecommunications ministry has directed Internet service providers (ISPs) to block 857 websites, in the government's first major crackdown on online pornography.

"We have written to the ISPs asking them to control free and open access to objectionable websites," N.N. Kaul, a spokesman at the telecommunications department, told AFP.

Since the weekend, users across India have been hit with blank pages when they try to access adult sites, many of them based outside the country, sparking anger on social media about moral policing.

According to the adult site Pornhub, India was its fourth largest source of traffic behind the United States, Britain and Canada.

Kaul said the order was issued after India's top court voiced concern last month about the government's failure to block child porn sites in India.

"There is currently no system to filter specific websites. We are looking into evolving a system," Kaul said, adding that until then all sites would be blocked.

The Supreme Court declined to impose a ban on porn sites last month while hearing a legal petition against them, saying adults had the right to access such websites in private.

Prominent authors, commentators and politicians took to social media to voice their opposition while #Pornban had been trending on Twitter.

"Don't ban porn. Ban men ogling, leering, brushing past, groping, molesting, abusing, humiliating and raping women. Ban non-consent. Not sex," popular author Chetan Bhagat posted on Twitter.

Opposition lawmaker Milind Deora said the ban was "not about liking or disliking porn. It's about govt hijacking personal liberties."

"What'll they ban next - phones & TVs?" he said on Twitter.

India has been accused of heavy-handed online censorship in the past, including in 2012 when it ordered 300 webpages, images and links on sites including Facebook and Twitter blocked, for spreading rumours it said was fuelling ethnic tensions. 

Film director Ram Gopal Verma said that given its popularity, any government which owned up to banning porn would lose the next election.

He wrote on Twitter: "Considering the sheer popularity of Porn whichever government owns up to banning it is sure to be wiped out of existence in next election."

"Government should work on finding ways to steer the content not to go in wrong directions rather than to block it."

He continued: "To deprive consenting adults of the harmless fun they are having of watching porn is equivalent of what Taliban and **** is doing to freedom. [sic]"

Musician Vishal Dadlani taking a dig at the government wrote in the micro-blogging site: "I wouldn't be surprised. Ironically, banned by the same party whose MPs were caught watching porn in parliament."

Actor-producer Uday Chopra also posed a question about the consequences that would set if such a ban is imposed: "So India bans porn. Will this decision lower the cases of sexual violence or increase it. I wonder."

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