The internet is abuzz with news reports about you can be jailed for visiting a blocked torrent website. But don’t worry, here’s the actual truth.
Over the weekend there’s been a lot of buzz around a new notice that certain users are seeing on blocked URLs in India. This is not the usual — ‘Your requested URL has been blocked as per the directions received from Department of Telecommunications, Government of India. Please contact administrator for more information’ — but something that seems more serious. Quite a few media reports claim that from now on just visiting a blocked URL, say like a torrent website, could lead to a three year jail term and a fine of up to Rs 300,000. Not surprisingly, this has sent internet into a tizzy with many users imagining the police to come knocking on their doors any moment. But here’s the truth.
The notice in question reads, “This URL has been blocked under the instructions of the Competent Government Authority or in compliance with the orders of a Court of competent jurisdiction. Viewing, downloading, exhibiting or duplicating an illicit copy of the contents under this URL is punishable as an offence under the laws of India, including but not limited to under Sections 63, 63-A, 65 and 65-A of the Copyright Act, 1957 which prescribe imprisonment for 3 years and also fine of up to Rs. 3,00,000/-. Any person aggrieved by any such blocking of this URL may contact at urlblock@tatacommunications.com who will, within 48 hours, provide you the details of relevant proceedings under which you can approach the relevant High Court or Authority for redressal of your grievance.”
Before we get all paranoid, first let’s take a close look at the notice. The first thing you notice is the vague language, and unlike the previous notice this new one just says ‘Competent Government Authority’ and ‘Court of competent jurisdiction’ without naming anyone. Second, and most importantly, is the wording of the bit about the imprisonment. The notice doesn’t say that visiting a blocked URL will get you arrested, but the viewing, downloading, exhibiting or duplicating an “illicit copy of the contents under this URL.” In simpler words, visiting a torrent website won’t get you arrested, but downloading pirated content from these websites could. Similarly, watching illegal streams online could also land you in trouble.
Many websites have been blocked under John Doe orders that are aimed at preventing copyright infringement. These orders are what Bollywood banks on to try and stop movies from being pirated online. The new notice seen on blocked websites is then is just old wine in a new bottle. This notice is also only currently visible to users of certain ISPs like Tata Telecommunications and reportedly MTNL and Airtel as well. Other ISPs could also soon start displaying the notice for users trying to access blocked URLs.
Source: bgr.in
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