India to hand out 1 billion Internet 'kill switches'

I had posted earlier about the absurdity of the new, degenerate IT (Information Technology) Act passed by the Government of India.

Well, looks like it's actually much worse.

Now anyone can censor anyone... Internet platforms (like Google and Yahoo) will have a hefty hardcover volume of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) thrown at them if they don't yank, within 36 hours, posted content that has been construed as 'objectionable' or 'disparaging' by literally any one of the billion-plus Indians with an individual opinion or an excitable disposition.

But wait! That's just the beginning... There are now what can only be described as 'bizarre' conditions for the ubiquitous Indian cyber cafe too.

According to an article on the Outlook India website the new rules regarding cyber cafes include such draconian directives as the layout and arrangement of furniture!

In addition, "the new guidelines mandate that cyber cafes keep a photo ID record of all users apart from maintaining usage data of individuals — including logs of all websites surfed by them — for one year." This, mind you, inspite of mildly annoying requirements that already exist, like stating your name, mobile number and browsing time. Many governments already view their citizens as potential criminals who must have their every activity open for investigated - whenever the "authorities" demand it.

Ladies and gentlemen, what you are witnessing is Big Brother slamming your freedom to express yourself onto the pavement, and proceeding to kick its teeth in!

However, the legal rape of opinion does have the wholehearted support of a certained shady ponytailed B-school professor-cum-salesman. But he's got good reason... I wonder if Sachin Pilot has one.

Sachin Pilot is the US-educated, baby-faced Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology. If one needs any more evidence of the increasingly disgusting hereditary nature of politics in India, and especially, New Delhi - this is a portfolio that was once held by his (late) father, Rajesh Pilot!

Oh! By the way, baby-face (who became India's youngest MP at 26) is under investigation in the multi-billion 2G spectrum sale scam. I wonder if the investigating agencies have a record of all the websites he visited. Or are such ridiculous laws not applicable if your daddy had a red light on his Amby?