Anonymous calls for protest against Indian net ‘censorship’
09 Jun 2012
Global computer hacking movement Anonymous has called for street protests today in 16 cities across India over what it sees as growing government censorship of the internet.
Anonymous is not alone in protesting the insidious attempts by the government to censor internet content on grounds of 'security' or 'objectionable content'.
Observers and the media have been pointing fingers at information technology minister Kapil Sibal for some time now over his attempts to control internet content.
This particular call for demonstrations by the Indian arm of Anonymous follows a 29 March court order issued in Chennai demanding 15 Indian internet service providers to block access to file-sharing websites such as Pirate Bay.
The order has resulted in access being denied to a host of websites that carry legal content, apart from pirated films and music websites, including www.isohunt.com and www.pastebin.com.
On Wednesday, Anonymous fired its opening salvo by attacking the website of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), pasting the logo of the group – a mask of 17th century British revolutionary Guy Fawkes who tried to blow up the British Parliament with gunpowder - on www.mtnl.net.in.
