Digital Democracy, or the lack thereof?
12th August 2019
Dear Reader,
We are back after a two-week hiatus, that was in many ways forced upon us due to personal reasons. A lot has happened in this time, making it difficult to pick and choose the important stories that we believe should be brought to your attention. We have however tried, and this week’s newsletter has an eclectic collection all of which highlight possible substantial changes emerging in the relationship between tech, Indian society, and the Indian government. As always, please do provide us with your feedback.
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The Blockade
Ever since the Government of India’s controversial decision to abrogate Art.370 and remove Jammu & Kashmir’s special status, the state-turned-Union Territory has been under a communications blockade, with all access to phone and internet services blocked. This has resulted in significant difficulties to the people of the region. People have been unable to reach their families within the state, which in turn has led to spiraling anxiety. Without any way to reach out to loved ones, patients have been struggling by themselves in hospitals, and journalists have been struggling to report stories. In the midst of all this, one Kashmiri editor has approached the Supreme Court to bring these curbs to an end. Internet shutdowns are fairly common in India, but not at this scale and none so far have had as many adverse effects as the current one does. Whatever be one’s ideological stand on Art.370, there can be no doubt that this blockade is inhumane and undemocratic and must go.
The Indian Judiciary Has Joined The Chat
In the last couple of years, faced with international backlash over its role in enabling fake news and widespread mob violence, WhatsApp has been forced to undertake several measures which its founders would not have envisaged. Almost all of these were first tried and tested India and then exported to the rest of the world. Now another development in India could change the face of WhatsApp forever. The Madras High Court is currently hearing a petition that seeks to link WhatsApp accounts with Aadhaar numbers, to make WhatsApp messages traceable — the end implication being that the government can potentially snoop in on WhatsApp conversations. The final result of this litigation could have massive implications for all social media in India, and WhatsApp across the world.
What is TikTok’s Caste?
No form of social media seems to be immune to the disease of hate speech. While Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are the worst culprits, others are not far behind. TikTok, which is still widely associated with innocent, tame 15-second videos, seems to have become a natural venue for hate speech, especially casteist speech. While these platforms should not be held responsible because a user posted hate speech, they should be liable for not taking any follow up action.
User Download Interrupted
Perennial growth of the number of Indian internet users has been an article of faith for both domestic and foreign internet companies in India. The idea of the world’s largest potential market has been used to justify significant investments that might not see immediate results. But what if this rate of growth is actually slowing down? And what if it is slowing down significantly? And what does this have to say about the state of the larger Indian economy?
And The Award For The Best TikTok Goes To…
Finally, in the more absurd yet interesting category of news, Pune will host India’s first-ever TikTok film festival. We have nothing more to say. If you are in the area, do go and let us know how it is.
