The Wire “When the internet is shut down, I have no work, do not get paid, cannot withdraw any money from my account and cannot even get food rations.” This statement by a Dalit woman daily wage worker from Rajasthan begins a joint report by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) scrutinising India’s record as the world’s Internet shutdown capital. In No Internet Means No Work, No Pay,...
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No verifiable records of Internet shutdowns available: parliamentary panel -Sobhana K Nair
-The Hindu The report suggests in-depth study of the economic fallout of frequent shutdowns There were no verifiable, centralised records of Internet shutdowns in the country. Neither the Ministry of Home Affairs nor the Department of Telecom maintains such a record, the parliamentary standing committee on information and technology pointed out in its report adopted on Tuesday. The committee, headed by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, pressed for a detailed study on the...
More »Explained: Internet access surges during pandemic -Priscilla Jebaraj
-The Hindu But remote work, education, and healthcare still not equally available to all, says survey The story so far: Internet connectivity has shot up over the last year, with most new users attributing their new connections to the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdowns. However, a new nationwide survey found that remote work, education, and healthcare are still not equally available to all, even among those with digital access. How was the study designed? LIRNEasia,...
More »Freedom House Report Criticises India for Internet shutdowns, New IT Rules and More
-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...
More »Why Schools Should Not be Allowed to Open Prematurely -Soumya Datta and C Saratchand
-Newsclick.in Just reopening schools won’t make an unequal education system more equal without public funding. It may speed up SARS-CoV-2 mutations and risk another brutal Covid-19 wave. The Delhi government recently decided to reopen schools and other educational institutions after a long Covid-19 related shutdown. Previously, several other states had taken similar decisions. Such decisions have been backed by several experts and activists, principally on two grounds. Firstly, socially and economically disadvantaged...
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