-Scroll.in Technologies are known to increase bias, resulting in inaccurate judgements for minorities. In 2012, in United States’ Santa Cruz, a company called Predpol Inc devised a software that promised to predict future criminal activities by analysing past criminal records and identifying patterns. This simple idea of “predictively policing” an unsuspecting population aimed to change the face of law and order in the US. Police departments in major US cities began to use...

-The Hindu Notes several instances of govt pressure on media outlets Washington DC: In its 2020 Human Rights Report, the U.S. State Department said the harassment and detention of journalists critical of the (Indian) government in their reporting and on social media, has continued, although the government generally respected the Freedom of expression. It also said government’s requests for user data from Internet companies had increased “dramatically.” The report, which is submitted each...

-The Hindu Data stored digitally in devices that are seized can be tampered with or distorted, says petition by five teachers The Supreme Court has asked the government to respond to a plea by five teachers to protect “academic Freedom” from raids and seizures of police and investigative agencies. The past few years have seen raids on and seizures of electronic evidence from academicians, researchers, lawyers and activists. Now, a group of educationists have...

-The Hindu It violates the basic tenets of India’s democracy by keeping the knowledge of the ‘right to know’ from citizens and voters The Supreme Court, after a brief hearing on March 24, reserved orders on the question of whether or not to stay the electoral bond scheme, ahead of the upcoming State elections. For the last three years, electoral bonds have been the dominant method of political party funding in India....

-The Hindu Justice Ramana, as Supreme Court judge, has been part of various decisions ranging from electoral issues to rights of women to bringing the Chief Justice of India’s office under the ambit of the Right to Information. Several years before he began his journey, which will eventually see him being sworn in as the 48th Chief Justice of India, Nuthalapti Venkata Ramana undertook an arduous journey by truck with ₹10 in...