India to see selective ban on WhatsApp? World's internet shutdown capital to avoid total blackouts

While activists say that this is a form of digital authoritarianism, the officials say that this has become part of necessary actions needed in an event of a law and order situation. The ongoing ban on web services in Manipur has once again put India on the world map as internet shutdown capital. While activists say that this is a form of digital authoritarianism, the officials say that this has become part of necessary actions needed in an event of a law and order situation. Amid growing concerns over internet shutdowns, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is reportedly planning a new mechanism that may help in avoiding total web blackouts. According to an ET report, the telecom regulator is in favour of selective bans of popular OTT apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp and others. The report further said that the new mechanism may consider other apps such as Facebook etc for such a selective ban. Quoting a senior TRAI official, the ET report said that as of now, Indian authorities don’t have a the technological setup to selectively ban these OTT apps. Due to this, the government often resorts to total internet shutdowns. However, this leads to massive disruption
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