WeTransfer file sharing website banned in India on grounds of ‘national security’

• The order banning WeTransfer in India was issued by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on May 18, 2020.
• Citing national security concerns, the DoT sought a ban on three links – two referencing particular files, and the third banning the entire WeTransfer.com website.
• While some internet service providers have banned the website, it still works on Airtel and ACT Fibernet connections.

WeTransfer file sharing website has been banned in India on the grounds of ‘national security’ and ‘public interest, according to a new report. The ban was authorized via an order passed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on May 18, 2020.

According to a report by Mumbai Mirror, the order was passed by the DoT on May 18. In the order sent to internet service providers (ISPs), the DoT stated that WeTransfer.com, and two other links on the website were banned on the grounds of ‘national security’ and ‘public interest’.

While the order was passed nearly two weeks ago, we were able to access the website using Airtel and ACT Fibernet connections. The website refused to load on the Reliance Jio network, suggesting that not all ISPs have enforced the ban on WeTransfer at the moment.

What is WeTransfer?

WeTransfer is a file sharing website that allows users to send files of up to 2GB size for free. The website does not require you to register or provide your email address, although it is provided as an option.

The website is used by over 50 million users to send more than a billion files every month.

Why did the government ban WeTransfer?

According to the report, the order passed by DoT includes references to three links – two of them to files, while the third one bans the entire WeTransfer.com website.

The order cites the following stipulation, “In the interest of national security or public interest, the Licensee shall block Internet sites/Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)/Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) and/or individual subscribers, as identified and directed by the Licensor from time to time.”

The Indian government has a history of banning websites

The Indian government has a history of banning websites. In 2018, over 800 websites were banned on the grounds that they hosted pornographic content.

Apart from this, the government has also banned several websites regularly on the grounds of hosting pirated films.

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