Why blocking WeTransfer in India unlikely to be effective

New Delhi: While blocking public access to certain Internet services is a legitimate arsenal in the hands of every sovereign country, this often leads to opposite effect of increasing traffic to the blocked service, a top legal expert said on Tuesday, reacting on reports that India has ordered Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to Dutch file-sharing site WeTransfer on alleged grounds of national interest.

The file sharing service is very popular among Indians for sending heavy files, videos and other content which are otherwise difficult to share. However, there are concerns that some vested interests may be using the service to send and share sensitive data that may jeopardise national security.