Modi summons telecom secretary over website takedowns, sources say

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office summoned the telecommunications secretary on Saturday to explain how officials ordered the takedown of more than 100 websites based on court orders that Reuters revealed were fake, two government sources said.

The intervention from Modi’s office signals intensifying scrutiny after Reuters revealed on Wednesday that telecom officials directed Internet providers to block 129 illegal betting websites based on fake High Court orders which were emailed to officials by people posing as lawyers. While online betting is illegal in India, the case has raised concerns that a lack of safeguards in India’s content-takedown system could allow falsified court documents to be used to block legitimate websites.