DuckDuckGo Search Engine, the privacy-oriented search engine site seems to be blocked in India. The development was detected after several internet users reported that they were unable to access the website on their PCs and smartphones via the Airtel and Reliance Jio mobile networks. The block is also reported on Airtel’s broadband connections. Gadgets 360 has reached out to Airtel and Reliance Jio for more details on this matter.
The US-based DuckDuckGo Search Engine appears to be blocked days after the government banned 59 Chinese apps in India. The government had said that the applications posed a security risk to India and jeopardized the sovereignty and integrity of the country. However, neither the government nor telecom operators like Airtel and Reliance Jio have clarified the reasons for blocking DuckDuckGo in India.
Following this development, several users assaulted to social media platforms, expressing anger against what seems an arbitrary decision. The Internet Shutdowns Surveillance Controller Managed by the Software Freedom Law Center tweeted You were unable to access the DuckDuckGo website on Airtel India connections.
We can’t access @Pato Pato to win search engine @airtelindia. Let us know if you can connect through your Internet Service Provider. @SFLCin
– InternetShutdowns.in (@NetShutdowns) July 1, 2020
Several users also took Reddit after they were unable to use DuckDuckGo on their PCs and smartphones via Airtel and Jio connections.
In Gadgets 360, some team members were able to access the DuckDuckGo website on their Airtel mobile and broadband connections, while others were unable. Neither the mobile website nor the mobile application worked on Airtel mobile connections or broadband networks. “A server with the specified hostname could not be found,” the application showed. We were also able to access the website using Jio Fiber and Jio mobile connections, in addition to Vodafone mobile connections. As mentioned, Gadgets 360 has reached out to Airtel and Reliance Jio for more details on this matter, including how some users can access the website, while others cannot.
Meanwhile, multiple users have pointed out that the privacy-focused search engine worked with a VPN.
This is not the first telecommunications company to block privacy-oriented platforms in the country. Last year, Reliance Jio arbitrarily blocked access to the Telegram website. The company led by Mukesh Ambani had also blocked VPN and proxy websites in India.
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.