With this year's summit being held under the perception that the world is heading towards a showdown “between democracies and autocracies”, the group wants guest nations to sign an 'open societies' charter.
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China built itself a veritable “Great Firewall” over the years, with a system of online censorship and social media restrictions that has created an alternative internet for those within China. Now, India is trying to evolve its own way to similarly police the internet, within the grey areas afforded by India’s free speech laws.
In the aftermath of protests in Delhi during last month’s Republic Day, the Narendra Modi government has been at loggerheads with Twitter over banning content and accounts which authorities deem unsavory to the establishment. While Twitter initially complied, it later partially rolled back the bans, stating freedom of speech and charging the Modi government with violating Indian laws.