Internet Shutdowns, Content Blocking, and Democratic Backsliding: A Critical Evaluation of IT Act Mechanisms in Maintaining Public Order versus Suppressing Voice,”
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2026
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
NLUJAA
Abstract
The internet has ceased to be a luxury and has become the essential infrastructure of modern democratic life. It is the medium through which citizens communicate with each other and with their governments, through which journalists report on public affairs, through which political parties organise and campaign, through which students learn, through which businesses operate, and through which civil society holds state power accountable . When a government orders the internet to be shut down whether by cutting off access entirely, throttling it to a speed that makes it practically useless, or blocking specific platforms or websites it is not merely disrupting a communications service. It is disrupting the exercise of the most fundamental rights that a democratic constitution guarantees its citizens. It is suppressing speech, preventing assembly, disrupting livelihoods, and degrading the informational environment upon which democratic selfgovernance depends.
Description
Dissertation submitted to National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam in partial fulfilment for award of the degree of MASTER OF LAWS/ ONE YEAR LL.M. DEGREE PROGRAMME Submitted by Amin Rosul Barbhuiya UID: SM0225003 I Year & IInd Semester Supervised by Dr. Himangshu Ranjan Nath Assistant Professor of Law