Behind the great Indian Internet shutdown

Sub: Polity

Sec: legislation in news

Context:

Despite a Supreme court ruling, instances of internet shutdowns have continued to rise, making India the world leader in such disruptions.
Instances of Internet restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, often without timely publication of official orders, illustrate a lack of transparency in enforcing these restrictions.
Even in cases where government orders are published, delays are common, preventing affected individuals from challenging the restrictions in court.

Supreme Court’s Directive:

In January 2020, the Supreme Court of India ruled in the case of Anuradha Bhasin vs. Union of India that access to the Internet is a fundamental right under the Indian Constitution.
The Court emphasized that restrictions on Internet access must be temporary, lawful, necessary, proportionate, and limited in scope. Moreover, such restrictions must be subject to judicial review.
The expectation was that the ruling would significantly reduce instances of Internet shutdowns and ensure that these measures were only imposed under exceptional circumstances, such as public emergencies or threats to public safety.

Lack of statutory provisions:

Union Government has not given statutory recognition to the directions in Anuradha Bhasin judgement.
In 2020, it amended the Telecom Suspension Rules, 2017 to limit Internet suspension orders to a maximum of 15 days.
However, the amendment did not include an obligation on the Government to publish orders nor did it include the Supreme Court’s direction to undertake periodic review of these orders.
The lack of transparency and statutory backing undermines the right to access information and impedes democratic processes.

Disproportionate impact:

Internet restrictions are frequently justified by claiming they primarily impact mobile data services.
However, this argument overlooks a critical fact: as per a 2019 report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators, 02% of internet users in the country rely on mobile devices, including phones and dongles, for connectivity. only 3% of users have access to broadband Internet.