Non-government members added to India's content blocking committee

The Indian government has revealed that non-government members are part of a committee responsible for blocking online content and handling complaints. This information was shared in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Jitin Prasada. The committee, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), includes experts from the Press Council of India, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and the Confederation of Indian Industry. This is the first time that such inclusion has been made public. The committee was formed according to rules established under the Information Technology Guidelines of 2021. It is made up of representatives from various government ministries, including defence and external affairs. The group addresses complaints that are escalated by self-regulatory bodies in the digital media sector and makes recommendations about blocking certain content. Prasada's comments came in response to a question from DMK MP A. Raja, who asked about the number of online publications and social media sites blocked under the IT Act in the past five years and whether proper procedures were followed. However, Prasada did not provide details on the number of websites that had been blocked.