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☆ NewsClick: Indian police raid news site critical of Modi's government, fueling fears for press freedom
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Those questioned include reporters, editors and contributors linked to NewsClick, an independent news website known for being fiercely critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Some of those taken for questioning reported the raids on Twitter, now known as X, as they were taking place. India, with a population of 1.4 billion people, is the world’s largest democracy and one of the largest media markets in the world. Media personnel outside the Delhi Police's Special Cell in New Delhi, India, on Oct. 3. Altaf Qadri/APBut the Modi administration has been repeatedly accused of intimidating the press, stifling free speech, and censoring independent news organizations.

Persons: Narendra Modi’s, Prabir Purkayastha, Amit Chakravarty, Bhasha Singh, “, Abhisar Sharma, Modi, Anurag Thakur, ”, Altaf Qadri, Digipub Organizations: CNN — Police, Police, Twitter, Delhi, Cell, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, CNN, Information, . Media, of India, Press, Amnesty Locations: New Delhi, Delhi, Odisha, India, Mumbai, Laos, Djibouti

☆ India passes data protection law amid surveillance concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017 REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File PhotoNEW DELHI, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Indian lawmakers on Wednesday passed a data protection law that will dictate how tech companies process users' data amid criticism that it will likely lead to increased surveillance by the government. The law will allow companies to transfer some users' data abroad while giving the government power to seek information from firms and issue directions to block content on the advice of a data protection board appointed by the federal government. The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 gives the government powers to exempt state agencies from the law and gives users the right to correct or erase their personal data. The new legislation comes after India withdrew a 2019 privacy bill that had alarmed tech companies like Facebook and Google with its proposals for stringent restrictions on cross-border data flows. The Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital rights group, has also said that the law does not contain any meaningful safeguards against "over-broad surveillance", while the Editors Guild of India has said it affects press freedom and dilutes the Right to Information law.

Persons: Kacper, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Blassy Boben, Shivam Patel, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Facebook, Google, Freedom Foundation, Guild of India, Thomson Locations: India

☆ India says new IT fact-checking unit will not censor journalism
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, April 14 (Reuters) - A proposed Indian government unit to fact-check news on social media is not about censoring journalism nor will it have any impact on media reportage, a federal minister said on Friday. Recently amended IT regulation requires online platforms like Meta Platforms Inc's (META.O) Facebook and Twitter to "make reasonable efforts" to not "publish, share or host" any information relating to the government that is "fake, false or misleading". Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India minister of state for IT, said in an online discussion it was "not true" that the government-appointed unit, which press freedom advocates strongly oppose, was aimed at "censoring journalism". The Editors Guild of India last week described the move as draconian and akin to censorship. Reporting by Shivam Patel, Munsif Vengattil and Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indian court seeks govt response on comedian's challenge to IT rule changes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, April 11 (Reuters) - An Indian court on Tuesday directed the government to respond to an appeal submitted by a comedian challenging recent changes to the country's IT rules, which prevent social media platforms from hosting information that the government terms "fake". The rules dictate that social media platforms "make reasonable efforts" to not "publish, share or host" any information relating to the government that is identified as "fake, false or misleading" by a government appointed fact-checking unit. The Bombay High Court, hearing a petition filed by comedian Kunal Kamra, asked the government to file a reply on the plea and scheduled the next hearing for April 21. In his petition, Kamra said that the amendments "constitute unreasonable restrictions to freedom of speech and expression". Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been in repeated tussles with various social media platforms when they failed to take down certain content or accounts that it accused of spreading misinformation.

[1/2] Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the G20 leaders summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. The amendments to the country's IT rules make it obligatory on platforms "not to publish, share or host fake, false or misleading information" about the government. The Guild again urges the ministry to withdraw this notification and conduct consultations with media organisations and press bodies." Digital rights organisation Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) said undefined terms such as "fake", "false" and "misleading" in the amendment make them susceptible to misuse by authorities. Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly and Shivam Patel Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indian journalists warn of new assault on press freedom
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The Editors Guild of India, a nonprofit organization representing more than 200 journalists, said in a statement on Friday that it was “deeply disturbed” by the new rules, saying they had “deeply adverse implications” for press freedom in India. If these companies failed to take down the offending content, Chandrasekhar said, they would lose the automatic legal protection they currently enjoy against complaints about third-party content on their platforms. “The dangers of misinformation, the impact of patently false information in a democracy like ours, is never to be underestimated,” Chandrasekhar said. Concern has been brewing in recent months over the Indian government’s increasingly restrictive stance towards the media. In February, Indian tax authorities searched the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai, accusing the British broadcaster of tax evasion.

The government said the BBC had failed to respond to repeated requests to clarify its tax affairs related to the profits and remittances from its Indian operations. The documentary, which was only broadcast in Britain, accused Modi of fostering a climate of impunity that fuelled the violence. Reuters spoke to eight Indian journalists, industry executives and media analysts who said that some media which reported critically on the government have been targeted with inspections by government agencies, the suspension of state advertising, and the arrest of reporters. Modi's government has vigorously denied the BBC tax inspection - the first against an international news organisation in decades - was a response to the film. Gupta said there had been complaints after the government reduced its advertising spending but that was not an assault on media freedom.

BBC News reported on television that people had not been allowed to enter or leave the offices. The raids come after the Indian government said it used “emergency powers” to block the documentary from airing in the country, adding that both YouTube and Twitter complied with the order. A BBC spokesperson told CNN that the organization was “fully cooperating” with authorities. The two-part documentary “India: The Modi Question” criticized the then-chief minister of the western state of Gujarat in 2002 when riots broke out between the state’s majority Hindus and minority Muslims. But the riots remain one of the darkest chapters in India’s post-independence history, with some victims still awaiting justice.

☆ India editors warn 'fake news' proposal akin to censorship
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, Jan 19 (Reuters) - A major Indian journalist group urged the government to reject a proposal to police fake news on social media, saying such a change to the country's information-technology rules would be akin to censorship. The proposal would bar social media platforms from hosting any information that the authorities identify as false, the latest in a slew of measures by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government that are being seen as efforts to rein in big tech firms. Information deemed "fake or false" by the Press Information Bureau or by any other agency authorised for fact-checking by the government would be prohibited under the draft amendment issued on Tuesday. The Editors Guild of India, in a statement on Wednesday evening, urged the government to scrap the proposal and begin "meaningful consultations" with stakeholders on the regulatory framework for digital media. Reporting by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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