JOIN USCiting national security concerns, the government has blocked 32 websites allegedly carrying anti-India material from terror groups such as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria).
"We have blocked some websites, as there were serious national security concerns," said a government official.
The websites that have faced the crackdown include popular video-sharing platforms like DailyMotion and Vimeo. Some of them have been allowed to function after the objectionable content was removed.
The websites purportedly contained material about Areeb Majid, an alleged ISIS member arrested by the Nation Investigation Agency (NIA), and three others hailing from Karnataka's Bhatkal area.
The governments suspects that the websites were being used to induce Indian youth to join the ISIS and to spread news about the purported death of certain persons while fighting Allied Forces in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq.
Sources in the government said that the crackdown followed an order from a Mumbai court which was approached by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) with a plea to block some websites carrying anti-India content.
During its probe into certain terror cases, the ATS had received information that some websites were carrying anti-national content, the official added.