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New Delhi: Between March and July, there was one blocking order every 68 seconds, on an average, for online content by the government in India. This amounts to around 1,275 every day, nearly 1.95 lakh in just five months, according to a report by The Indian Express.

There has been a surge in blocking orders issued by the Union government to restrict online content sent to Instagram, Facebook and YouTube this year at a time when students across the country were protesting against exam leaks, with the biggest protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in June and July. 

This is compared to a total of 2,312 blocking orders sent to 19 online platforms through the Sahyog portal, translating to a daily average of six such orders a day, according to data accessed through an Right to Information (RTI) filing by Express last year, between October 2024 and October 2025.

While a monthly break-up wasn’t available, per the report, a senior government official said that a “considerable share” of the blocking orders were issued during the protests as they gathered momentum, particularly on Instagram.

The Wire has also reported how in the aftermath of the youth protests, especially after July 20, when........

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