Should Government think for Social Media Ban instead of Internet Ban? Abhishek Tripathi LAW CRITIQUE Tue, Dec 24, 2019, at ,12:38 PM There have been 317 instances of Internet Ban in India since 2017. In 2018 India registered the highest no. of internet bans 134 times which is 67% of global internet shutdown[i]. In amidst of the sequence of protest in India against the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 the mobile internet services and SMS services have been blocked in more than “Internet shutdown is a violation of the Constitutional Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression. They cause damage to the economy, individuals and businesses. They also cause long term harm to the people of affected regions by denying them access to knowledge.” Faisal Farooqui, CEO, mouthshut.com Some recent decisions of the Union government such as the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act have led to violent protests in many parts of the country, forcing the administration to suspend Internet services to prevent rumor-mongering and thus prevent more violence. In India, terror activities and communal tensions have been the biggest contributors to suspension of Internet Services. The Internet has become a daily need for us from our food to our payments. Daily uses apps like paytm, googlepay, zomato, uber, ola, oyo, bookmyshow and many more to count are based on internet services. The internet services shutdown takes away these privileges from us. In the country which is rapidly charging into the phase of Digital India internet shut down for even an hour will harm the general masses. The losses suffered by internet shutdown to the delivery boys or the cab drivers are often not considered. They and their families are dependent on that job which is purely dependent on mobile internet. There have been instances where the students have missed out on deadlines for exams due to an internet ban. Recently many students in Guwahati complained that they have missed the deadline to apply for a competitive examination. The online banking system which majorly relies on OTPs is on the backseat. Due to SMS and Internet bank cashless system is no more is ok with cashless-ness. The ATMs are running dry because of a sudden increase in the cash demand. In the time when our life is so much dependent on the internet, it is very difficult to impose an internet ban and not hamper day to day life of an individual. Internet is not just Social Media but is much more than that. These days we are part of a widespread internet ecosystem where our business and our daily needs are dependent on the environment. It is high time when the government should think of targeted ban like banning just the apps and website which are a threat. Banning the whole internet cause a huge economic loss and slow down the day to day business. [i] https://internetshutdowns.in/