• 9964432222
  • Mail Us
  • Appointment
  • Locate Us
  • Chat Now
  • Courses
  • Login
  • Register
Manifest IAS
JournalsOfIndia
Manifest Learning Academy
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
JournalsOfIndia
No Result
View All Result
Home Law & Policy

Section 69A of IT Act

September 5, 2020
in Law & Policy
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Section 69A of IT Act
218
VIEWS
Share on WhatsAppShare on TelegramShare on Facebook
image_pdfMake PDF

After banning 59 Chinese apps, India has also blocked nearly 40 websites run by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) — a pro-Khalistan outfit declared “unlawful” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Both the decisions were taken under Section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act that empowered the government to block online content.

Section 69A of IT Act

Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, was introduced by an amendment to the Act in 2008. It gives the Central government the power to block public access to any information online, whether on websites or mobile apps. Under Section 69A, if a website threatens India’s defence, its sovereignty and integrity, friendly relations with foreign countries and public order, the government can ban it, after following due procedure. The detailed procedures to do so are listed under the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009. Apart from this, a court may also issue directions for blocking information online. The Department of Telecommunications, too, can issue blocking orders to internet service providers, to enforce licensing conditions.

Section 69A mandates that every ministry in central, state and Union Territory governments must have a nodal officer, to receive complaints about websites that host ‘offensive’ content. Once the nodal officer sees merit in the complaint, he/ she then forwards it to a designated officer, who chairs a committee to examine the grievance. This committee includes representatives from the Ministries of Law and Justice, Home Affairs, Information and Broadcasting and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), and give the intermediary a hearing. Once this procedure is over, the designated officer can issue directions to block a website, only after the approval of the secretary of the Department of Information Technology, in ordinary circumstances.

The Section mandates strict confidentiality about complaints and action taken. Due to the presence of this clause, Right to Information (RTI) queries are not applicable to the law. Moreover, the committees to examine requests and review appeals comprise entirely members from the executive. In its 2015 judgment in the landmark Shreya Singhal v/s Union of India case, the Supreme Court of India upheld the validity of Section 69A and the extant blocking procedures. The court said that the law was constitutional and a website could be blocked only on the basis of reasoned order. The Supreme Court also emphasised that the law has sufficient safeguards under which the order can only be issued with the committee’s approval to block a website after it has heard the aggrieved party. As mentioned in the Rules, in all cases, whether emergency or not, the reasons to block the website have to be recorded in writing.

image_pdfMake PDF
Source: Financial Express & The Hindu
Tags: Prelims

Related Posts

PM MITRA scheme

PM MITRA scheme

July 1, 2022
India State Support Programme for Road Safety

India State Support Programme for Road Safety

June 30, 2022
Anti-defection law and its effect on politics

Anti-defection law and its effect on politics

June 29, 2022
Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D)

Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D)

June 29, 2022
Bharat NCAP program

Bharat NCAP program

June 29, 2022
Karnataka’s first exclusive park for specially-abled children

Karnataka’s first exclusive park for specially-abled children

June 28, 2022
Demolition drive and Rule of law

Demolition drive and Rule of law

June 27, 2022
Seven years of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban(PMAY-U)

Seven years of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban(PMAY-U)

June 25, 2022
One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme

One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme

June 23, 2022
Tussle over role of the Governor in recent times

Tussle over role of the Governor in recent times

June 23, 2022
Please login to join discussion

Our Offline Classroom Student

PRELIMS 2021 POLITY QUESTIONS ANALYSED

https://youtu.be/5q8hBcRGhAs

PRELIMS 2021 HISTORY QUESTIONS ANALYSED

https://youtu.be/v0SIZ7SUybg

CONGRATULATIONS TO 2021 TOPPERS !!!

Rank 171 Kumar Shivashish
Rank 250 Sahithya
Rank 263 Sumit Kumar Thakur
Rank 311 Deepak Ramachandra Shet
Rank 455 Ravinandan B M

July 2022
MTWTFSS
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Jun    

Browse by Category

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tags

AIR BBC Business Standard CNN Deccan Herald DownToEarth Down to Earth DTE Economic Times ET GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Hindustan Times IE India & the world Indian express India today Indiatoday Kurukshetra LiveMint Mains News Newspaper News Paper PIB PIB & The Hindu pre Prelims PRS India RSTV Science Reporter Survey The Hindu The Hindustan Times The India Express The Indian Express The New Indian Express Times of India TOI TOPPERS UNDP website Wikipedia Yojana
JournalsOfIndia

Our vision is to orient the readers to grasp the facts objectively and analyse critically. In the rush of reaching first to the readers, the websites miss the balanced opinion, which is the need of the hour. We aim to reach the readers with more crispness, preciseness and relevance. We bring the articles in UPSC way for the civil services aspirants and the Wisest Way for general readers.

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tag

AIR BBC Business Standard CNN Deccan Herald DownToEarth Down to Earth DTE Economic Times ET GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Hindustan Times IE India & the world Indian express India today Indiatoday Kurukshetra LiveMint Mains News Newspaper News Paper PIB PIB & The Hindu pre Prelims PRS India RSTV Science Reporter Survey The Hindu The Hindustan Times The India Express The Indian Express The New Indian Express Times of India TOI TOPPERS UNDP website Wikipedia Yojana

Newsletter

The most important UPSC news and events of the day.

Get Journals daily newsletter on your inbox.

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Home
  • SNIPPETS
  • ARTICLES
  • BROWSE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In