The Lawfare Podcast: India v. Platforms
Tensions between major social media platforms and the Indian government have reached a new high. In recent months, India has demanded that Twitter remove a range of content critical of the government and has even sent police to Twitter’s offices in New Delhi in what Twitter has called “intimidation tactics”. The government recently instituted new rules that exert strong control over how companies operating in India govern their platforms rules that have already prompted a legal challenge from Whatsapp in Indian court.
On today’s episode of the
Lawfare Podcast s Arbiters of Truth series on our online information ecosystem, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Nikhil Pahwa to put these latest clashes between platforms and the Indian government in context. Nikhil is a technology journalist and digital rights activist and the founder of the Indian technology publication MediaNama and he’s been watching this story closely. What
Harnessing the Power of Social Media, Indian Netizens Support One Another During the Second Wave of COVID-19
Online platforms have morphed into 24/7 helplines on medical access
As nearly every state in India reels under a vicious second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens have become a source of support for one another. On April 23, the number of new COVID-19 cases reached more than 332,000 in just 24 hours, the highest-ever recorded in the world in a single day; the death toll for the day stood at 2,263.
The states of Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and West Bengal are some of the worst hit, but as the healthcare system baulks under the rising caseload, ordinary citizens are coming forward to help alleviate some of the sufferings. From random acts of kindness to well-coordinated responses, Indians are standing in solidarity with one another, even as they grieve.
Tensions between the Indian government and social media giants have been escalating with both sides strongly disagreeing over new rules for digital content.
Josh Edelson / AFP
The Modi government’s threats to ban international social media apps for not complying with new local guidelines are as damaging to the country as they are for these companies.
May 26 was the last day for all social media companies to meet a local regulation in India that was introduced in February and mandates all firms with over 50 lakh users to offer traceability of information as well as appoint a grievance officer.
Failing to follow the regulation will not end in a ban like many clickbait headlines have suggested, but it will result in loss of intermediary status, which means companies like Facebook and Twitter could be criminally liable for any content deemed illegal on their platforms.
WhatsApp has launched legal action to stop India enforcing new social media rules that would break its privacy guarantees, the messaging platform said. AFP
New rules governing social media companies in India will make it hard for the firms to operate and give authorities the power to censor Internet users, campaigners warned after WhatsApp filed a suit against the Indian government.
WhatsApp, a unit of Facebook, filed a legal complaint in Delhi against the Indian government, seeking to block regulations taking effect on Wednesday that experts say would compel the firm to break privacy protections.
The lawsuit asks the Delhi High Court to declare one of the rules a violation of privacy rights in India’s constitution since it requires social media firms to identify the “first originator of information” when authorities demand it.