India may have given the world the Kama Sutra and the Bollywood wet saree scene, but it appears that we are not yet ready to be exposed to the delicate subject of sex on the Internet.
Investigation has discovered that several Internet companies have quietly introduced filters to prevent Indian users from accessing sexual content. Yahoo and Flickr (owned by Yahoo) altered their sites earlier this month to prevent users in India from switching off the safe-search facility. The block also applies to users in Singapore, Hong Kong and Korea.
Microsoft has also barred Indian users of its Bing search engine from searching for sexual content. Users who do try to search for sexual material receive a notice informing them that "your country or region requires a strict Bing SafeSearch setting, which filters out results that might return adult content".
The clampdown is supposedly in response to recent changes to India's Information Technology Act of 2000, which bans the publication of pornographic material.
That law, which is based on a 150-year-old statute (section 292 of the Indian penal code), defines obscenity as "any content that is lascivious and that will appeal to prurient interest or the effect of which is to tend to deprave or corrupt the minds of those who are likely to see, read or hear the same".
Search engine reports suggest that users in India are responsible for more searches for "sex" than those in any other country. Popular Indian daily newspapers are packed with pictures of young women in states of undress and Bollywood oozes sexuality from every pore.
Editor: Dear Friends, please post your thoughts in the comments about the introduction of Internet access filters by major search engines. Thanks.
Comments (67)
on: December 31, 2009 7:49 PM | Reply
oh god... am i living in a socialist country?
on: December 31, 2009 7:53 PM | Reply
"users in India are responsible for more searches for "sex" than those in any other country" this is quite possible because the population of india is more than any other country(Except china which has already these kind of internet restrictions since ages).Restricting sex content will provoke people more and more towards searching it.I thought internet is the only place where there is freedom for everyone,these rules really suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
on: December 31, 2009 8:08 PM | Reply
Anyway, who uses Google to search for Porn? :P
on: December 31, 2009 8:11 PM | Reply
Absolutely disgusting.Parents hardly talk about sex , and the proposed sex education in schools hasn't really taken off.Filtering the search engines may pose as an hindrance to our sexual awareness.And about stuff like adult content, it is like the constitution is baby sitting us.Yahoo and microsoft are just working according to our law.We can't blame them.Our law needs to be more modernized
on: December 31, 2009 8:14 PM | Reply
Ya its true ... but u can access usa's bing from india .. there is a link that directs you to usa's website where u can change the search criteria
on: December 31, 2009 8:14 PM | Reply
it is ridiculous.
on: December 31, 2009 8:37 PM | Reply
Man, this sucks. What the fuck prevent sex things in India? No pr0n0, no sex toys, and now no use of search engine to find xxx videos to jerk off and kill the kitten?
This is excessive... those bastards first block our sweet #$$%, and now blocking whole 'sex' thing...
Fk em all right in azz... REALLY!
on: December 31, 2009 9:11 PM | Reply
damn
on: December 31, 2009 9:18 PM | Reply
There's no problem in watching or publishing nudity, only if its been published with a good intention. Dont comment about the indian culture where everything seen is taken holy, be it ur mother's pussy. Ur sites does not ask for any verifcation teenagers learning new things take it as a mode of learning, acheiving sexual satisfaction becomes their doze of adrenaline which leads to various crimes that we see daily. Our culture and ur blog's content go in 2 opposite directions, choose a negotiating mode or shut up. Licking pussies, fondling boobs, raping, molesting, abusing is not we our kids taught in the text books, neither do i want them to learn nething of that sort. nething that u wish to post in ur website; is it done by a mutual agreement by u and the persons shown. If yes, then i have absolutely no issues. I have no hard issues with any of the pornographic sites, but if u want this to be a issue of discussion, then first of all reveal your own identity. Well , if u think y m i asking u to do so when i m not ready to reveal mine. well, the answer is plain and simple..dude its ur post not mine..
on: December 31, 2009 9:33 PM | Reply
In my opinion, sex is still a naive concept in India, parents discourage their children from getting sex education, in most western countries the population dont get as exited about sex and naked women as we Indian do because of its naiveness in our society. It is because of this immatureness that we need such strong laws, otherwise our country will go bizrk on this issue and rather than any good it will be all bad that would come out of it.
on: December 31, 2009 10:50 PM | Reply
We indians are hypocrites we are number one in popullation but when it comes to sex we hide the fact that we fuck more than any one... lol
Best of luck india
on: December 31, 2009 11:19 PM | Reply
Its so sad when companies decide what a person can watch.....this is a major loss for the free internet. no wonder indians are backward in life. sex is a taboo for them. instead of banning it they should have invested in safe sex practices and educating the illiterate.
on: December 31, 2009 11:23 PM | Reply
sorry but i am not in support of it.people will not talk of even they are banning the other information methods,how one can think of controlling hiv if they fell so same.
on: December 31, 2009 11:42 PM | Reply
even google has done the same thing now..any ways how does it matter..nobody searches for sex on search engines any more..we remember the site addresses..hehehe
on: January 1, 2010 12:19 AM | Reply
ironic that government tries to control viewing of pornography, but does nothing to prevent violence against women , children
on: January 1, 2010 12:29 AM | Reply
The goverment and the public both knows that there is no way to stop it is the public which ses the content . So who is supreme public or the other way why this hypocrisy.
on: January 1, 2010 1:06 AM | Reply
we indians always like to fuck but pretend that we hate fucking. why? because we cannot accept mental growth and our government is our guardian. inspite our respectable governor found with girls , but we cannot take chance to be immorale. actually we r 100 crores of hypocrits and we like to be good before every one.
on: January 1, 2010 2:17 AM | Reply
array jaani ab tera kya hoga? ishwar allah aysu ka naam lo :-)
pray hard - lord save us from these puritanical idiots
on: January 1, 2010 2:22 AM | Reply
We tout ourselves as the world's largest democracy where people have freedom to do as they wish. This is very shameful. It is an infringement of people's freedom.
on: January 1, 2010 2:37 AM | Reply
Pussies. These are the same fucking politicians who get caught up in sex scandals which we see in DebonairBlog.
on: January 1, 2010 2:55 AM | Reply
indians can see porn on bing by changing the country in the bing settings
on: January 1, 2010 8:17 AM | Reply
this is sucks, what about those people who want to see nude and sexy in vdos or pics.
on: January 1, 2010 8:32 AM | Reply
Approximately 10 people, trying to control the minds of a billion people, and trying to shape the course of the Indian society acting as the 'MORAL POLICE'. Imagine how history will treat them. They are going to look like a bunch of jokers 50 years down the line...
As for the Filters against Indian search words:'Against Personal Freedom' but then again...better be safe than sorry...who wants to get involved in a million dollar lawsuit in a recessive market???
on: January 1, 2010 9:08 AM | Reply
Go for google when u r searching porn conrent...
on: January 1, 2010 10:26 AM | Reply
This is d most pathetic news ever witnessed..
Shame on IT system..
on: January 1, 2010 10:55 AM | Reply
India IT act and indian mindset sucks
on: January 1, 2010 11:07 AM | Reply
We are Indians dear !!
We can do any thing we want, we do what Americans or Europeans would not dare to do. Only we do all of them under a fake cover.
Don't know when India would get the courage to admit what we like.
on: January 1, 2010 11:36 AM | Reply
Hi,
I'm not an indian, but I was raised among Indian people and almost know everything about them. Anyhow, I think banning Indian users from searching whatever they wish is not likely a good idea at all.
Everyone has their individual taste and or perspective, which is really not a major concern to anyone. This ban is kind of a discrimination.
Majority of men who work for late hours and are not married, often watch adult content on the internet to reduce stress. I believe, watching adult content on the internet is much safer than other sexual activities. If Yahoo and Microsoft are concerned about users searching adult content, they should totally remove sexual terms from their search engine rather than banning certain regions.
on: January 1, 2010 11:36 AM | Reply
well this is not right ...........
we must have our freedom for these things.......
on: January 1, 2010 12:09 PM | Reply
we are a nation ruled by politicos who, on one hand define morality while their sons read "playboy" in their bedrooms.
on: January 1, 2010 1:14 PM | Reply
wat the fuck.... our bloody politicians can njoy prostitutes bbut the common man cant even watch porn.....
on: January 1, 2010 2:34 PM | Reply
This is totally absurd. Yahoo & Bing are in any state are losing Business thanks to Google. Due to non relevant Search Results. This move will anger users even more, I feel that everyone should be given their space & space to make choices as to what we want to search & see. I see this as a move to see India as a cultural country whose citizens openly refrain from SEX. But the truth is Indians are the maximum who indulge in SEX & voyeurism & Debonair Blog is a proof of how many Scandals & Photos hit the Blog. I appreciate & congratulate Debonair Blog for making & allowing people to see within culture covers. This is the reality.
on: January 1, 2010 3:05 PM | Reply
I do not blame microsoft,yahoo or flikr. The stupid indian policy makers are to blame. These global companies are only trying to conform to indian laws to be able to do business in a 1 Billion population.
on: January 1, 2010 3:14 PM | Reply
India needs to ditch those 100, 200 year old laws & enter into 21st Century. Everybody knows these laws are big joke.
Its better to Legalize porn & prostitution and earn revenue on them than hunt violators.
on: January 1, 2010 3:33 PM | Reply
It is qiute pathetic to know that a 150 yr old law is still being enforced in a country with more than a billion people who have become indepedent around 63 yrs ago, and r not capable of deciding what is right and what is not. Sex is a part of life and also the process of formation of life, some like it more some like it less, hence it is part of your personal choice, and trying to impose laws which restrict our personal choice is stupidity. But agian it seems more like a case of 'racism' against asian's, who probably can't decide what is right or wrong for themelves, but are the brains behind these major companies.
on: January 1, 2010 5:53 PM | Reply
I really critisise the thought of filtering the sexual sites. I just want to know the answer of my Question i.e. If guy who can decide the fate of a county at the age of 18 then why not he get the liberty to see and hear what ever he likes whether it is pron or other ??
on: January 1, 2010 5:59 PM | Reply
yes indeed , as long as people like Mr.N.D.TEWARI is in the power , sex is a banned subject in India.
on: January 1, 2010 6:18 PM | Reply
Am really sorry to hear this. But I'm outside India, sooo I won't be affected :P
on: January 1, 2010 7:08 PM | Reply
Microsoft's / Net Nanny's family safe filters can be used appropriately for family computers, however locking one country into this format is utterly pointless & useless.
A better idea would to be to educate people about online porn, and accepting whatever outcome comes out of peer-reviewed studies. Unnecessary fear about the topic will only make it more taboo, and that can't be good.
Porn is nothing more than a distraction from an underlying issue. What is this underlying issue that everybody is trying to run away from?
on: January 1, 2010 7:24 PM | Reply
It will change but i dont think anytime soon. maybe when everyone over politician who is currently over 35-40 quits then maybe we can have it changed but with those old dogs in there things like this wont.
another question editor, can indians go on them if they go through a proxy?
on: January 1, 2010 7:30 PM | Reply
till the end of days come to the world the search for sex never stops as no one cant justify as they are the (GOD)even (GOD)gets
fooled in this matter.the thing to note is the technology of seeing sex browse(search)is new there is nothing wrong till one goes to the wrong way to make others affect.even in the worship of god(place)the sex harshment is going on.sex is the thing that depends upon the ones body/mind/soul.without sex there is no world.god create this world with adam+eval=child.without sex think of world.
on: January 1, 2010 8:39 PM | Reply
Oh yeah! looks like those guys havent heard abt proxy servers! Any lock is just as safe as the skill of the thief. Now a days even kids know about proxy servers !
on: January 1, 2010 8:47 PM | Reply
Some strictness in this regard is inevitable and desirable as well. But going to ahead won't serve the purpose and as people might turn to different media's for pornographic material. But such an action by above listed search engines is laudable as it will somewhat successfully deny searches made by children. But better alternative to this would be that parents keep a strict vigilance on their children themselves.
on: January 1, 2010 9:14 PM | Reply
This is really bad news, folks.
Regarding proxy, yes we can access them through proxies, but lately sites like Hulu.com has taken strict measures to ban major proxies like witopia, hostspotshield etc. Yahoo and bing hasn't done that yet, but that future can't be far.
Again, if you're willing to pay for, renting VPNs is an option.
on: January 1, 2010 11:11 PM | Reply
When the government can't have control over women's dressing, which these women say is their idea of freedom, accept the gay culture & prostitution, then why impose such laws which bar us from OUR FREEDOM........
on: January 1, 2010 11:33 PM | Reply
People living in Europe, American continents etc were very much improvement in sex, pornography etc for the last few decades. But asians including indians thinking about 150 years back! But there is no decrease in population in Asia. They are talking one and doing another act.What a difference. I think that technology will sweep away all our expectations.
on: January 1, 2010 11:50 PM | Reply
The most bogus decision.....
on: January 2, 2010 12:28 AM | Reply
Iss tarah k law banane walo ko TALABAN k hawale kar do.Taliban ko hi iss tarah k kanoon(law)ki zarurat hai.
on: January 2, 2010 12:36 AM | Reply
no need for all this.
this is already in place in ms search engine ,bing for many dayz
but just change your country there to uk or us , it seems to be working comfortably. :) njy
on: January 2, 2010 1:17 AM | Reply
Hi all,
I'm not indian, i'm Sri Lankan. But i have to admit that this rule is totally insane.This is totally pointless. Even in SL there is such a rule but applies only to SL porn. Any other porn is fine. So why can't these people modify the law so that you keep ur country high in attitude as well as satisfied...
on: January 2, 2010 1:19 AM | Reply
Finally...!
If govt will continue such measures ,we will definitely get rid of this damn dirty addiction..
DOnt get angry guys..its for our good sake...
on: January 2, 2010 1:38 AM | Reply
guyz we bought up like dat so we hav to conti..... so no spl reason 4 it
on: January 2, 2010 11:06 AM | Reply
yaar, ab mera kya hoga. bina porn dekhe mujhe raat me neend nahi aati hai..
on: January 2, 2010 1:36 PM | Reply
You get to all sites if you have some knowledge of software the Gov thinks the are smart but they fail to think smarter people elected them in.It takes a crook to elect a crook .
on: January 2, 2010 2:52 PM | Reply
its better to change the law.
on: January 2, 2010 3:37 PM | Reply
Ya its true.....u can open USA's bing and alsom who uses bing.......and yahoo ia just for email in india not as a preffered search engine..........
GOOGLE is not having any restrictions and u can choose your own filter......
as far as acts and rules are concerned.....its just on paper...acts are there from a long time but thay had not been able to utilize the same against anybody because the porn sites are hosted from other countries and some are hosted from countries to whom india is not having any legal pact to close down the same.....
just enjoy.there is always a way out at internet......remember rule makers are slow.
on: January 2, 2010 3:42 PM | Reply
Man i belong to a society where these things R banned but still accessible from internet THANK GOD it didnt happen HERE by the Way this will push those GUYS MORE AND MORE TOWARDS SEX
on: January 2, 2010 5:39 PM | Reply
In all Indians watching pornography is very high. All of us Indians don't ever admit it. Even Indian girls like to watch pornography. In industries there are certain rules and restrictions. It is not good to watch pornography in area of work. If the people working want to watch pornography at any cost then there should be a separate section in the industry where there should be only entertainment. This entertainment decision should be taken by industry management.
on: January 2, 2010 10:42 PM | Reply
For all those mother fuckers who don't like content of DB, just don't fucking come around here. Barely any website now a day ask that are you 18 yo boy/girl or daddy's lil Johnny/angel ?
So GO FUCKOFF!
on: January 5, 2010 6:44 PM | Reply
This is appalling - and really sad that the Indian Govt have invoked a law imposed on India 150 years ago by puritanical Victorian Englishmen. Really very disappointing.
on: January 6, 2010 4:02 AM | Reply
Never used yahoo for searches.....i close the window if anytime i see yahoo search, BS. Never even heard of Bing, so who cares. Google good for now, and would use proxies to search if such a problem, hope not, arise in future!
on: January 9, 2010 12:50 AM | Reply
gand mar di yaar hamari
on: January 14, 2010 6:34 PM | Reply
This government's party is congress who is also a more then 100 yrs old party. So the law will automaticaly more then 100 yrs old. Shame on them.
on: April 6, 2010 1:22 AM | Reply
Before teaching indians from staying away from sex our political netas & babus should look after the corruptions in our country.
I do like to tell our indian lawmaker that don't try to change the system. Else the system will change you. Blocking a site would not purify minds of indians......
on: July 16, 2010 1:07 AM | Reply
This is totally an antique law... The world is fast developing and moving forward. Now a days, even a child of 5 age is well known of love and sex, if researched across India. This means that India is totally a developed country except for few who is out dated.. However, sex is never an obsene element as this is the only reason for the multiplication of human breed on earth. Anyways, watching pornographic movie is not an issue, if assisted with a proper sex study. Sex study need to be introduced in classes from High School level in India which reduces the kids from being anti-social elements of the society in terms of sex abuse.
Regards,
Arjun
on: April 24, 2011 5:32 PM | Reply
The more things are covered and made scarce, the more are people liable to go for them. A stolen mango, a stolen look fires imagination. The more there is to think, the more funny it becomes, I have seen people at Kahujuraho, Bhoramdeo, Sun temple stare open mouthed without a trace of sexuality in it
on: February 8, 2012 1:44 AM | Reply
Swati I do not think, this mindset generalization is right, I am also an Indian and a liberal one too!!