India admits 'technological error' in blog blockade

NEW DELHI After two days of angry inquiries and accusations of censorship, the Indian government tried to explain Thursday why it had ordered blog sites blocked, calling it "a technological error" that would be repaired soon.

In an e-mail sent early Thursday, an official at the Consulate General of India in New York said that the order to block a handful of Web sites, including the popular blogspot.com, which hosts thousands of personal Web logs, had been prompted by the discovery of a Web site that contained "two impertinent pages" rife with material containing "extremely derogatory references to Islam."

In an effort to stave off sectarian violence, said the official, who was not authorized to speak to the press, India's Department of Telecommunications instructed Internet service providers to block access to the two pages.

"Because of a technological error, the Internet providers went beyond what was expected of them, which in turn resulted in the unfortunate blocking of all blogs," the official said.

The move has sown anger and confusion among Indian bloggers, who have accused the government of censorship and demanded to know why their sites have been jammed.
IHT