Slashdot Mirror
Orkut In Pact With Indian Law Enforcement
food4thought writes "The Economic Times reports that Orkut has signed a pact with Indian Cyber Crime Cell. They have now pledged to block any 'defamatory or inflammatory content', or hand over IP address information to police if asked.' Deputy Commissioner of Police (enforcement) Sanjay Mohite said the pact means they do not have to go through the lengthy process of asking the Central government to communicate with Orkut. The practice so far has been to first send a request to the Centre's computer emergency response team in New Delhi. This team processes the request through its channels and even if a forum is finally blocked, the "culprits" still remain untraceable as no IP addresses can be obtained ... "Now we can do away with the process and not just directly ban content but also obtain details of IP addresses and service providers quickly," Mohite said.' How long before we see these 'informal arrangements' elsewhere?"
Seems like Google's moto of "Do no evil" has been replaced with "Do more profit"
Now it'll be impossible to post "holy cow!" anywhere on Orkut...
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Wow, you're incredably lazy, it says in the SECOND SENTANCE of the article. Its a google-run community site.
Will anyone sponsor me to submit my 'one-click arrest' patent?
On reading TFA, sounds a bit flaky...
"The pact, which is actually an "informal arrangement" called the Priority Reporting Tool, comes as a big surprise to internet users as Orkut has succes, just thsfully blocked attempts by various countries to control content."
"Now we can do away with the [old, slow, but govt. controlled] process and not just directly ban content but also obtain details of IP addresses and service providers quickly...the IP addresses will enable the [police] cell to track down people who have posted messages and book them if the need arises, police officials said."
No mention of legal oversight etc.
Mind you, perhaps we'll all gotten too blasé about the supposed freedom & anonymity of the 'net. After all, if you defame someone in traditional print, you can be sued in most places if it's not fair or truthful. Still, as I said, the smart badboys aren't going to be worried about this...plenty of internet cafés and open (or openable) hotspots around..
So, this is effectively a non-story then. Unless there's been a sudden surge in Brazilian immigrants to India, that is.
...and I'm fucking pissed.
This is the worst sort of intimidation. Bal Thackeray is a politician. If content against him can be censored, we've reached the limit. The government already blocks websites it deems "hateful". Unfortunately, the definition of hateful includes anyone who dares to criticise the communists, or Islam. The current government stays in power because of the support provided by the communist parties, so they can get ridiculous things like this passed.
Simply put, this is the first step in an exercise which promises to put an end to freedom of information on the internet in India as we know it. There was an incident where, some time back, the whole of blogspot was blocked. The government doesn't run a firewall a la China, they just ask ISPs to do it. Because there exists no independent ISP (all private players have to lease bandwidth themselves from the government - it's a state monopoly), they have no choice but to comply.
I am so completely pissed.
Yeah, the Indian authorities want to keep people from kissing in public on Orkut.
Don't piss off The Angry Economist
(P.S: For all those of you who are wondering, Orkut is a (Google promoted) Friendster like social networking site that is very popular in the Indian subcontinent and in Brazil too. Recent surveys indicate that Orkut ranks 9th in terms of membership size, behind Myspace et. al.)
India has a strong and independent judiciary, democracy, human rights law (unlike Britain). It is more democratic and free than any other country at its economic level.
Leave this part and you've hit it. One of the things why I visit orkut once a month and myspace never is that orkut looks more professionals and easier to use. Its actually a good way to meet up with your friends in case they are all there.
Microsoft: "You've got questions. We've got dancing paperclips."
...just a thought, but how do you propose to control a combined 2.4 BILLION people? Considering the sheer amount of HUMAN'S, I find it implausible to expect that EVERY ONE of them can be fully represented. This isn't to say that they don't DESERVE rights, just that with THAT many people, you have to balance security and freedoms VERY carefully, generally tipping towards the former.