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‘Internet censorship is tough to deal with’ To comprehend the technical possibilities of screening and removing the objectionable data on the web, we caught up with Ankit Fadia, a 26-year-old ethical hacker, at his book launch. He unveiled his latest hacking thriller—How to Unlock Everything on the Internet—to enable people to use banned websites. Since Fadia has been instrumental in decoding several internet crimes in India and around the world, we wanted to know from him whether it’s possible to pre-screen data on the social networking websites before it’s made public, and if there are other ways to deal with the matter. We also sought his views on the concept of ‘free internet’.
Ankit Fadia
independent computer security consultant and writer
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ornographic content is exposed to kids openly on the web, giving concerns to Indian parents today. Don’t you think you should have rather come out with a book on blocking the sites objectionable to kids? In order to block pornographic or inappropriate content, there is no technology available that allows this hundred percent today. So it’s important for parents to inculcate a value/moral system in their kids, so that they don’t access objectionable content on the internet. Although I’m not a parent, I interact with a lot of kids today and try to tell them what is not appropriate for 24 | February 29, 2012
them. But yes, I agree that the forbidden fruit always attracts. If we ask kids not to do something, they will do it or find ways to do that even after blocks. Probably, it’s difficult to control this. Five years ago, kids used to access the internet either on their desktop or laptop, now they do it on their cellphone. And 5 years from now, they will perhaps access the internet through the digital screens. Since mediums keep changing, therefore controlling the content becomes a difficult task. Since we can’t monitor kids 24 hours of the day, hence at the end of the day, it’s about educating them and telling them what’s wrong and what’s right.
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DATAQUEST | A CyberMedia Publication
Are you supporting hacking? The title of your book suggests this. Or is it just how you interpret it? I don’t support any kind of illegal activities or hacking per se which is punishable or confronts a country’s IT law. However I don’t support the blocking of websites which are legal and should not be blocked or banned. For example, most of the educational institutions do not allow students to access Facebook or Twitter. I’m absolutely against this method of controlling. Many people argue that accessing social networking websites is just wastage of time. But students still access these websites on their cellphones in the institution and are doing this even after the ban. So it doesn’t make sense. Many people also cite bandwidth as a reason for blocking Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. To them, I’ll suggest that they must adopt a freeium model and let students access these websites. If YouTube can remove objectionable videos from the website, why can’t the websites conform with Indian government’s concern to pre-screen data before making it public on the web? Is pre-screening possible? Does the China example make sense, where these social networks are blocked or banned? I reiterate that it’s impossible to pre-screen data for social networks, given the amount of data being generated from all sorts of people around the world. It’s not technically and economically feasible. Thus internet censorship is tough to deal with for the governments. It may be possible to regulate and ban newspapers and TV channels, but the internet cannot be controlled since anybody can post anything from anywhere instantly. I don’t think that YouTube is doing this. All it is doing is post-screening videos and removing them, if found illegal or offensive. And it is a manual process rather than a technological one. But yes, people can mark a video or image on the websites as illegal or abusive. There is a mechanism in place on Facebook and other social networking websites for users to report something as abuse or illegal or pornographic or as hate speech by clicking on a link. If enough number of users click on that link, then the content is taken down automatically. So it is rather post-screening which is possible. Also, I don’t think that a country should follow China. China has employed and engaged more than 40,000 hackers to block and censor content. Facebook, Twitter, and most of the YouTube videos are blocked in China. India is a democratic nation where these DATAQUEST | A CyberMedia Publication
things should not happen. Economically, it’s not possible for India to engage as much as 40,000 or more people to block and censor the internet. Isn’t it right to take action against websites for publishing objectionable content? In the name of freedom of expression, is it good to hurt the sentiments of people? India is a diverse country. As per me, content which is offensive in nature either towards a particular religion or race should be removed from the internet. But there has to be a right approach to do this. In the name of religion or race, it is perhaps not right to ban the websites. Because the websites are simply the media and not the content creators. Furthermore, it is difficult to put immediate brakes to the flow of information being created on these websites. But, I advocate strong postscreening measures to keep tab on objectionable activities. Twitter and Facebook should behave more responsibly before the governments get in touch with them and instruct them to do so. You said that while people read this book they should respect local laws. Won’t the book promote illegal browsing, if a person travels to a country like China or UAE where Facebook and similar websites are banned? First of all, this book is only published in India. I don’t agree to the blocking of Facebook. And, I don’t think any government should do this. I’m ready to take on governments. I’m ready to fight the war of freedom of speech over the internet. If the information is not harming anybody or hurting any sentiments, why should it be banned? I entirely support the legal stuff on the internet and will continue to equip people to use these sites even where they’re banned. But no one can decide whether the information will harm anybody’s sentiments... Information is a very powerful tool and can be interpreted in different ways by different people. But there are always 2 ways—the good way and the bad way. Take an example of a knife. A knife in the hands of a criminal can take a life, while a knife in the hands of a surgeon can save a life. How you handle an instrument or tool does matter. Risk of misusing the power of knowledge or information does not mean that it should be banned. The freedom of speech and expression has to prevail. n
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ONKAR SHARMA onkars@cybermedia.co.in February 29, 2012 | 25