In public addresses and speeches, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has heralded the current decade as a "technology decade" for India: a fundamental digital revolution that affects all people and "evolves" all aspects of politics, economy and society.
However, although the leader of the world's largest democracy is urging citizens to use digital opportunities to lead the country towards a better future, India's rapid digitalization has many authoritarian digital practices undermining civil liberties. In addition to arresting journalists and government critics for what they post on social media, the Indian government is investigating the use of Pegasus espionage against its adversaries. Twitter and an Indian state are fighting a legal battle over content removal requests. And all of this is happening in the absence of data protection laws that protect fundamental freedoms like the right to privacy.
In our recently published Global Voices Advocacy India country report on Captivity Monitor, we draw on our research findings on digital authoritarianism in India and how it is discussed in various media, including social media.
Join us live on September 22 at 11:00 GMT/43:00 ET to discuss the findings of this report and how civil society is fighting against these authoritarian practices. The meeting is free and open to the public. Sign up below to receive event alerts:
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The event will be moderated by Sethubandha Upadhyay, tech policy and digital rights researcher and citizen media watchdog Global Voices, and panelists will include:
- Pratik Sinha is the co-founder of Alt News, an Indian fact-checking website dedicated to exposing misinformation, disinformation and misinformation in social and mainstream media.
- Shubhangi Kheda is a researcher at the Global Voices Citizen Media Observatory and a PhD student at Queensland University of Technology. His research focuses primarily on issues related to media and technology policy. Previously, he worked as a policy analyst on issues related to privacy, freedom of speech and expression, and data management.
- Ava Hyder is a research analyst at the Aapti Institute, where her interests focus on digital development ecosystems, social media through technology, and online presence. Prior to joining Aapti, Ava worked as a researcher at Ashoka University, where she taught political theory to students and helped develop online programs during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In her work, she seeks to broaden her field of research at the intersection of Indian identity, politics and digitization.
We hope you will join us on Thursday, September 22 at 11:00 GMT / 4:30 p.m. EST (click here for your local time zone).
