India expanding censorship regime, creating uneven playing field: study

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CategoryPolity

Last Updated07/10/2023

According to a new report by Freedom House, a Washington DC-based non-profit, global Internet freedom has declined for the 13th consecutive year.
The environment for human rights online has deteriorated in 29 countries, with only 20 countries registering net gains.

The report by Freedom House titled ‘Freedom on the Net 2023: The Repressive Power of Artificial Intelligence
It has raised a red flag on the increasing use of artificial intelligence by governments for censorship and spread of disinformation.
As per the report, the sharpest rise in digital repression was witnessed in Iran, where authorities shut down Internet service, and increased surveillance in a bid to quell anti-government protests.
China, for the ninth straight year, ranked as the world’s worst environment for Internet freedom, with Myanmar the world’s second most repressive for online freedom.
The number of countries where authorities carry out widespread arrests and impose multi-year prison terms for online activity has risen sharply over the past decade, from 18 in 2014 to 31 in 2023.
The report also detailed how elections were a trigger for digital repression.
Ahead of election periods, “many incumbent leaders criminalised broad categories of speech and imposed other controls over the flow of information to sway balloting in their favor.

Indian Prime Ministers have incorporated censorship, including the use of automated systems, into the country’s legal framework.
The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules require large social media platforms to use AI-based moderation tools for broadly defined types of content
India also figured among the list of countries that blocked websites hosting political, social, or religious content.
Deliberately disrupted ICT networks, used pro-government commentators to manipulate online discussions, and conducted “technical attacks against government critics or human rights organizations”.
On a range of 1 to 100 where ‘100’ represented highest digital freedom and ‘1’ the worst repression
India scored 50, while Iceland, with 94, emerged as the country with the best climate of Internet freedom.