India's cartoonists built an audience online - now their posts are being restricted

For the second time in three weeks, Indian cartoonist Satish Acharya found himself effectively invisible on Instagram in his own country.

The 55-year-old discovered on Tuesday that his account had once again been briefly blocked in India, allegedly with no explanation from the platform.

Just a few weeks ago, another cartoonist, Manjul, had found that Instagram had restricted a post criticising India's election commission over its controversial revision of voter rolls. His profile remained accessible.

The cases have raised concerns about the use of legal orders to restrict political satire in India, with cartoonists saying they are often given little explanation for why their work has been blocked.

Acharaya's account was first restricted from 28 September to 6 October, when users in India could neither find his profile through search nor access it through a web link.

Anyone trying to access his profile saw a message saying it was unavailable under India's Information Technology Rules.

The rules allow authorities and courts to order social media platforms to remove or restrict content.

The government says they help tackle unlawful material, but artists and free-speech advocates warn they can stifle India's rich tradition of political satire.

Kaynak: BBC News World RSS (Açık Basın / Haber Servisi)