Proxy sites and VPNs are not illegal under Indian law. In fact, their usage “needs to be considered in the larger perspective of the absence of privacy protection or data protection framework in India, as well as the wide-ranging surveillance powers which the Indian state enjoys,” said Gupta of IFF.

The state’s capacity for digital surveillance may now be wider than ever, since a notification two weeks ago authorised 10 central agencies to intercept, monitor, or decrypt any digital communications. Recent reports have also revealed that the government is seeking to propose legal amendments to the Information Technology (IT) Act that compel online intermediaries to trace “unlawful” content online.

If Jio is really blocking proxy and VPN sites, Gupta said, it would violate a core principle of network neutrality: the “duty of an ISP not to interfere with the access choices of an end user.”

But the problem, he added, is that “we are always guessing” when it comes to website blocking. “There’s a lack of transparency, where not only requests for website blocking, but any action taken thereof is considered to be confidential,” he said. “When a person does not have the ability to approach a court, getting a hearing or any kind of judicial remedy, it just makes the entire censorship process secret.”

Jio did not respond to an emailed questionnaire.

This is not the first time that Indians have been baffled by certain websites being blocked. In 2015, an outpouring of criticism occurred when access to popular sites Github, Vimeo, Dailymotion, and Archive.org was restricted by the government for allegedly containing content related to the Islamic State. The sites were subsequently unblocked.

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