-TheWire.in On the anniversary of the day the Act came into effect, a look at that 'heaven of freedom' that will sustain even the most oppressed and marginalised people. Right to Information users, like dissenters and democratic activists in India’s troubled democracy, have been under siege. As the right to information (RTI) Act completes 16 years it becomes increasingly clear that democracy, and the right to information are inextricably linked to one another....

-TheWire.in The 'Freedom of the Net', an annual report that analyses the state of human rights in the digital sphere, found plenty to object to in the Indian context. New Delhi: “Where democratic checks and balances are lacking, government officials will exploit regulation to punish any company that moderates politicians’ speech, or pushes back against arbitrary orders to remove content or hand over data.” These lines come from Freedom House’s latest edition of...

-Press release by Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) dated 30 July, 2021 NEW DELHI: “During 2020 at least 228 journalists (including two cases against media houses) were targeted. These included 12 female journalists who had faced physical violence, online harassment/ threats and cases including under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) of 1967”, stated Mr Suhas Chakma, Director of the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) while releasing India...

-TheWire.in "Such mass targeting of Muslim women in public spaces, whether online or offline, that treats them as objects in the political discourse of Hindutva is simply unacceptable." New Delhi: A group of more than 800 women’s rights organisations and concerned individuals have issued a statement condemning the recent online targeting and harassment of Muslim women on GitHub, through an app called ‘Sulli Deals’ that sought to ‘auction’ these women. Photos of over...

-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...