Comments - Pulwama: Modi Faces Full-Blown Home-Grown Insurgency in Kashmir - PakAlumni Worldwide: The Global Social Network 2024-03-29T09:35:32Zhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profiles/comment/feed?attachedTo=1119293%3ABlogPost%3A123653&xn_auth=noIn 2017, #Modi's #India accou…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2019-04-17:1119293:Comment:1248372019-04-17T17:43:51.653ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p>In 2017, #Modi's #India accounted for about 70% of #internet shutdowns globally. There have been more than 300 reported shutdowns in India over the past six years. (there could be a lot more unreported shutdowns.) #censorship <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2019/04/india-internet-shutdowns-digital-authoritarianism-democracies.html" target="_blank">https://slate.com/technology/2019/04/india-internet-shutdowns-digital-authoritarianism-democracies.html</a> via @slate<br></br><br></br>This…</p>
<p>In 2017, #Modi's #India accounted for about 70% of #internet shutdowns globally. There have been more than 300 reported shutdowns in India over the past six years. (there could be a lot more unreported shutdowns.) #censorship <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2019/04/india-internet-shutdowns-digital-authoritarianism-democracies.html" target="_blank">https://slate.com/technology/2019/04/india-internet-shutdowns-digital-authoritarianism-democracies.html</a> via @slate<br/><br/>This disproportionate state response matters because it can come with costs, both social and economic. Observers can see the former because misused internet shutdowns can affect individuals’ ability to express even unpopular opinions freely—a right enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reaffirmed in a 2012 Human Rights Council declaration, which extended protections to both offline and online spaces.<br/><br/>Consider how, in September 2012, after a viral video began to anger Muslims in the Kashmir Valley, the regional government of Jammu and Kashmir ordered telecommunications companies to restrict access to YouTube and Facebook there. But the telecom operators chose to overcomply, and they disrupted access to the entire internet, rather than to specific websites. While done for the sake of security—protests erupted as the video circulated—it isn’t a stretch to see how this overly broad latitude could be used to censor any opinion perceived as unpopular.<br/><br/>As for the economic cost, a recent study on shutdowns in India—conducted by the think tank ICRIER—finds that, from 2012 through 2017, 16,315 shutdown hours cost the country’s economy approximately $3.04 billion. This is hardly ideal for a country that yearns to cement its place as a major power on the international stage.<br/><br/>On top of that, a shutdown goes directly against the government’s Digital India initiative, which attempts to promote a cashless economy. This is because a cornerstone of the e-commerce industry is access to open and reliable internet. (Notably, an Indian ride-hailing operator, Ola Cabs, has created an “offline” variation of its app for areas that experience intermittent internet connectivity.)</p>
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