China picks India's internet shutdown to justify suspension of services in its country

A China daily, considered to be under the control of the country's ruling party has cited India’s example to justify the internet shutdown in its country. China which has been repeatedly criticized by digital activists for censoring people’s voices online has taken India as a shield to justify its act of internet shutdown portraying it as normal and done by sovereign countries.

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“India, meanwhile, is the world’s second-largest internet market with more than 650 million connected users; the states of Assam and Meghalaya alone boast 32 million netizens. India did not hesitate to shut down the internet in these two states to cope when there is a significant threat to national security. The internet shutdown in India has once again proved that the necessary regulation of the internet is a reasonable choice of sovereign countries based on national interests, and a natural extension of national sovereignty in cyberspace,” the editorial remarked. 

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China picks internet shutdown in India

The Chinese daily cited internet shutdown in India’s northeastern states Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura after the clashes and protests erupted due to the Citizenship Amendment Act. China has the largest digital population in the world, considered to be around 840 million internet users, however, China has regularly fared poor on global internet freedom indices. 

In the wake of the protests in Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura concerning the Citizenship Amendment Act, the respective state governments had suspended internet services in order to prevent transmission of fake and violence-inciting messages which could fuel the protests further. These incidents of internet suspension have been picked up by China for justifying its acts of internet shutdown in its country.

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India had resorted to the internet shut down after the abrogation of article 370 as a measure to prevent the transmission of messages inciting violence in the region. A global digital advocacy organization named Access Now has stated that the suspension of internet services in Kashmir after the abrogation of article 370 is the longest shut down by democracy and is ongoing till date.

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