A Gwalior court ordered blocking of 73 URLs which contain content allegedly defaming the controversial management studies institution, IIPM (Indian Institute of Planning and Management - entirely unconnected to the premier management institutes, IIMs, despite the similarity in names). The Department of Telecommunication has effected the court order. A report on medianama.com contains the list of URLs that are ordered to be blocked, and what stands out glaringly is that the list is topped by a URL belonging to the website of the University Grants Commission (UGC) which clarifies that IIPM "does not have the right of conferring or granting degrees as specified by UGC". 

We checked a few of the blocked URLs and found that they have indeed been blocked (when tested on an Airtel broadband connection). To judge if all of the blocked content is simply a statement of an unplesant fact, or if it was truly defamatory, is beyond the scope of TechTree. But, a notice issued by a non-commercial body responsible for ensuring standards in education, seems to be statement of fact rather than defamatory, prima facie. If one were to read between the lines in the court order, there should be no negative statement made against any person or any institution, truth be damned.

Irate netizens are expressing their angst againt this block. IIPM and UGC are trending tags on Twitter right now. IIPM, with its latest attempt to block criticism, may end up with more negative publicity than it was otherwise getting. The statement 'any publicity is good publicity' holds good for, say, celebrities, but not for education institutions. A rather obvious fact in the world of business, one would think.

TechTree tip: Proxy servers are a nifty way of accessing content blocked by ISPs. 

TAGS: Internet