Go beyond blocking sites

Even in the virtual world we can't escape our unique social obligations. First, the Supreme Court did not “appreciate” the Central Government’s “helplessness” and inability to find a legal framework to control advertisements for sex-determination tests appearing on the web. Now, the apex court has restrained the Google, Yahoo and Microsoft search engines from carrying advertisements or links relating to sex-determination tests. Under Section 22 of the Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, advertisements of pre-natal tests in any form or medium, including the Internet, are prohibited. The court is right in showing its concern, for the skewed sex ratio continues to remain unabated.
 The fact is information published on web sites is generally meant for worldwide dissemination and caters to the needs of many countries, where sex determination may not be banned. A few web sites also provide rich material, useful to medical students. And most of these web sites are hosted outside the country. The need for a legal framework to ban content on the web was so far limited to the porn sites or the sites operated by terrorist outfits, with concerns like these getting prominence. And the government will have to decide which way it would like to go: impose a ban or spread greater awareness.         
The issue does call for concerted efforts on the part of the departments of information technology, health and family welfare and communications. The same technology can be used for mobilising public opinion for saving the girl child. Blocking certain generic words can prove counter-productive; it may end up withholding even positive messages. There is a greater need for public education and awareness drives to favour the girl child, even without getting into the legal entangle of the web. If bans could bring about social change, the PCPNDT Act would have sorted out the skewed gender ratio in the last two decades.