Sify To Shiv Sena: No Orkut Block For You!

Now I know that this news article was published earlier this month (which is like an eternity in "internet years") but I felt that with political pressure being brought on the Indian government to censor Orkut, government officials will take notice and follow the example of Sify, an internet service provider (or ISP).

(Mumbai Mirror Online) Internet Service Provider (ISP) Sify has refused to bow to the Shiv Sena's demand to block Orkut.com, saying the social networking website is the 'most popular' among the youth. Sify is the biggest ISP in Mumbai. It has 400 (I-way) franchisees in the city. In addition to that, over 1,000 cyber cafes use its services to provide Internet access to their customers. [...]

"Blocking a site is not at all possible and reasonable [from the moral point of view]. If someone is upset with the contents, they can take up their grievances directly with the [people who operate the] site," Pasha said. He also made it clear that cyber café owners do not have the technology to block a website; only an ISP can do it.

I am glad that companies like Sify exist, as there are already too many governments on our planet trying to play big brother for their populations. Although many people may be upset about the offending forums on Orkut (as there are several out there that I personally find offensive) I think censorship is the wrong avenue to take.

Ignoring "hate groups" is far more effective than banning the entire site, as doing so will only result in these offense groups finding another medium to communicate through. Unless hate groups become violent, the government should allow them to speak but use them as examples of backwards thinking in a modern day world.

Freedom of speech means freedom for everyone, and it should only be restricted when such speech causes false alarm or endangers people (like yelling "fire" in a movie theater or screaming "bomb" in an airport).

After all, if freedom is denied to one group, then what prevents that same freedom being denied to you in the future?

More Media Hype: Orkut Banned In Nagpur, India

I came across this several days ago, but I could not find one article specifically saying which cafe's were enforcing this "official ban" from the government regarding the warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji (which caused some protest earlier).

I suspect this article was written more to draw eyeballs to the screen, but I'll let you be the judge of that.

(Times of India) Due to the heat Orkut has generated in the past few days, cyber cafe owners here have decided to play it safe and told their customers verbally or through notice boards that logging on to the online community website is expressly banned. [...]

More recently, during the winter session of the state legislature at Nagpur, Shiv Sena MLC Arvind Sawant had demanded that the site be banned for 'obscene posts against Hindu women on the website'.

Since then, fearing legal hassles, cyber cafe owners have asked their customers to refrain from logging on to orkut.com.

The article goes on to explain that the order was supposedly given by the government to the internet cafe owners, although many of the owners are denying ever receiving instructions from the local authorities.

The cafe owners seem to be asking their users not to log onto Orkut, but ironically they are not:

• blocking access to the site
• banning members who use the site
• requiring a silly disclosure removing owners from legal harm

Could it be that Orkut is just way too popular in India and that censoring may affect their profits?

India Censors Orkut...But Users Have A "Key"

This is really a sad day for India. A step back for the worlds largest democracy.

I have been following the story of whether or not India would censor Orkut, and it appears that India has taken a baby step away from freedom of expression.

Abdul Qabiz confirms this on his weblog:

I am not able to access orkut.com, it seems it has been banned in Maharastra (the state I stay) or entire India? [...]

I can understand the government's concern about different hate-communities on orkut but I am wondering, why can't Indian government give a list (URLs) of such communities to ISPs so that selective ban can be done instead of entire orkut.com.

Since I am not a legal expert (especially regarding Indian affairs) I would have no clue how the nation of a billion people could go about and resolve this via courts.

However, just because the door to Orkut is locked, it does not mean that there is not a key.

Users may be able to access Orkut via proxy sites, such as Math Tunnel (hat tip: Orkut Guide) until this problem is resolved. There are other resources being developed by users as I type, and if anyone knows (or is creating) access points elsewhere, post a few of them here (and spread the word to your friends inside Orkut via email).

Note: It's days like these that I wish an Indian ACLU existed.

Update: Users in Maharastra seem to be able to still access Orkut. It looks like the ban was in discussion, but not actually used (Thanks Rahul D, DK/SarDaar, Ajay D'Souza, and Vivek for the heads up on this).

Will India Ban Google's Orkut?

(Hat Tip: Binny, and everyone else who emailed and scrapped me about this)

I sure hope not, but it seems that some people were very upset about an anti-Shivaji within Orkut, causing some violence within a few areas in India.

(IBN) The Bombay High Court has asked the state government to file its reply in connection with a pleademanding a ban on social networking site, Orkut, for hosting an anti-Shivaji web community. [...]

The community had been blocked by the Pune police after violent incidents were reported in the city when its existence came to light two weeks ago. Though the community is currently inaccessible, the petitioner has demanded that Orkut, which has captured the fancy of many Indians, be banned.

I don't know much about Shivaji, (beyond wikipedia that is) although I do not see the value in banning all of Orkut because of a few opinions amongst the millions who surf the forums.

Orkut has proven itself quite useful as many businesses use it to employ workers, as well as people using it to find the love of their life (congrats!).

Although there are a lot of forums within Orkut that I do not agree with, (especially the anti-American ones) I do not wish for them to be removed simply because I cherish the right for all to express themselves freely without consequence.

Simply banning Orkut would not only encourage members to get around the blocks, but also be a major set back for freedom of expression in the great continent of India.

Orkut Not Corporate Friendly?

(via Promocharger.com)

I am not too surprised at this, as in the states many managers will fire employees for surfing on Orkut, MySpace, Facebook, etc. on company time.

It appears however in India, managers are taking a smarter approach--banning Orkut from the corporate network.

(Hindustan Times) Alpesh Kapadia, a middle-level executive in a Mumbai-based software services' major, is livid. His company recently blocked Orkut, the social networking website owned by Google. [...]

"I used Orkut to network with people with similar tastes," says Kapadia. A software developer, he used the site to meet Linux applications developers and discuss new technologies. He also pursued his interest in music through the site, and planned weekends with friends.

"If you block these sites, employees who frequent them during office hours get upset. But if you don't, there is a tendency for employees to visit these sites too frequently. This is counter-productive," said Khushroo Pithawala, senior vice-president, Datamatics.

Although there are ways to get around these blocks (as any Google search will reveal) it probably is best to find some way to compromise with management over accessing Orkut (perhaps setting up some Orkut friendly computers during lunch break).

Some users (not blogged here) have actually convinced management that Orkut was good for employee morale, although they pretty much begged their bosses everyday about it.

Note: An interesting point from the article was that some employees were using Orkut to find new jobs, something I posted about several months ago.

If Orkut Is Blocked, Try This

It seems in a world full of political correctness, a few nations have decided that Orkut is unfit for their society and have therefore banned the forums from their citizens.

Although this prevents criminals from using the forums, it also hurt millions of others who were using it for legitimate purposes such as business and networking--that is until now.

Neel over at Geeks Desk posts about how to get around the Orkut blocks. Here is a snippet:

Using a free web proxy : This is the simplest way to access the blocked site. E.g. In the search box of website kproxy, enter the URL of the social networking site you want to access and it will display the login page of the specified social networking web site. The page contains the list of all the free web proxies you can use. Most of these web sites ask for the various options (especially for anonymous browsing). Always allow client side scripting while browsing for the social networking sites.

There is more listed on his site, but if none of these work let me know and I'll try to hunt down another solution for you. :)

Did Saudi Arabia Ban Orkut?

Yet another nation has apparently to bar access to Google's Orkut to its citizens as it appears that the forums hosted more than just women without burqa's. Although this was over a month ago, Xo Ail brings us the sad news.

Yes, Orkut is banned in Saudi Arabia. KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) has banned the Orkut Network realizing that it cant attain the possibility of producing or easing pornographic material online.

Saudi Arabia is a country where 99% of the porn sites or sites with absurd content are banned. Its stronger than china, where no proxy surfing or anything of the kinda would work.

Apparently some users have already found ways around the blocks. That's good news to hear, otherwise they would have had to settle for MuslimSpace.com, as Sharia law is enforced there.

More Orkut Censorship

I just came across these weblogs detailing more censorship of Orkut happening. The only difference this time is instead of being censored by the government, (confirmed by another blogger) Orkut now seems to be beginning to be censored at work. Asmyaham has the details:

Apparently, with the herd of freshers actively using Orkut at work, a decision to block the same was passed by SA, and this made the site inaccessible to 600 odd star employees, thus bringing to a standstill, the breadwinning occupation of these individuals who contributed to the top-lines of the organisation by constant networking through the website, and hence made hunting for prospective customers that much more easier.

Asmyaham later on chats with his boss "SA" and apparently worked out a deal to bring Orkut back by baby sitting his kids (is he serious?).

Perhaps Orkut is becoming the opium of the Internet masses. At least in India it is.

Congress To Block MySpace And Orkut?

(Published on The Social Networking Weblog)

In a world full of dangerous people with dangerous minds, it seems that Congress is proposing a new law to filter out MySpace, Friendster, and other social networking networks from libraries and schools. And that may include filtering out some of Google's services as well.

(Silicon.com) Fitzpatrick and fellow Republicans, including house speaker Dennis Hastert, on Wednesday endorsed new legislation that would cordon off access to commercial websites that let users create public "web pages or profiles" and also offer a discussion board, chat room, or email service.

That's a broad category which covers far more than social-networking sites, including Friendster and Google's Orkut.com. It would also sweep in a wide range of interactive websites and services, including AOL and Yahoo!'s instant-messaging features, Blogger.com and Microsoft's Xbox 360, which permits in-game chat.

Although MySpace and Friendster already have their own problems to deal with, Orkut's Terms of Service specifically prohibit minors from joining.

And what's with the email item? Is it me, or are they going overboard with this one?

Orkut Censoring Anti-Muhammad, Anti-Denmark Forums

(Published on Blogger News)

After the explosion of rage over the cartoon issue, it seems that the Orkut team over at Google is having their hands full removing forums and profiles either desecrating the Prophet Muhammad or wishing death upon the entire population of Denmark.

Profiles and forums depicting Islam's prophet Muhammad as a pig, someone "in love" with pigs or as a pedophile have disappeared, only to sprout back up again within hours.

One profile entitled Hazrat Mohammad (similar to a previous profile with a nastier title) depicts Islam's prophet as not only gay, but as a converted Catholic.



A forum which portrays Islam's prophet as a pedophile (warning: explicit images) seems to be one of "those weeds" Google just can not delete as noted by the creator's public description.

Orkut can keep deleting this community and leaving the Death to Denmark communities...I don't give a ****. This community is like herpes. It will never go away.

But it is not just forums and profiles insulting Islam Orkut has to deal with. It seems as if they are in the process of weeding out communities dedicated to the destruction of Denmark and Norway as well.

Although most of the major ones have been eradicated, several still remain, although they are easy to spot with titles such as Death to Norway (and other variations).

Orkut, whose purpose is to network businesses, relationships and people with similar interests is quickly becoming filled with rhetoric from extremists on both sides of the issue. Ironically it seems that Google (at least on Orkut's forums) is quickly finding itself in a position that is their least favorite to play--Internet nanny.

Did The UAE Block Orkut?

Naamer, who publishes over at UAE community blog is asking that question.

Arvindsatya confirms this by saying:

Yep when I wrote to Etisalat when Orkut was first released, then went on about how it could potentially lead to dating like just about any other site with any sort of community.

If this is true, Samuraisam thinks it is a waste of time to try to convince the authorities that Orkut is a harmless site, although Crackingboy provides a technical reason why he thinks Orkut is blocked.

I am trying to verify this over at the UAE forum (as well as the other two) and will post an update here later on.