No study done to calculate economic, social impact of internet shutdowns: Minister

The central government has not conducted any assessment to gauge the economic and social impacts of internet shutdowns in India, Union minister of state for communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani informed the Lok Sabha in a written response on Wednesday. In another response to a question by BJP MP Sudheer Gupta and Congress MP Chavan Vasantrao Balwantrao, the minister said that the government has not received “stiff reservation” from public or private operators about provisions under which the government can seize control of telecom services on grounds of security and public order. The four Congress MPs had also asked for district-wise and month-wise details of internet shutdown orders issued under the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services, 2017 between 2018 and 2024, and if the government was aware that India has reported the highest number of ‘government-implemented’ internet shutdowns in the world. Sekhar, in his response, reiterated the government’s oft stated stance — since police and public order are state subjects, the DoT does not maintain details about the internet suspension orders issued by state government or union territories.