Social media platforms and publishers with a presence in India may have to get a license to operate in the country, if the draft policy to check fake news is finalized in its current form, two people who are part of the ongoing consultations told TechCircle on the condition of anonymity. The sources were unaware… Continue reading As India seeks to curb fake news, Facebook and Twitter may need licences to operate (14 December 2018, Techcircle)
The ban on porn in India is interesting in many ways – for some, it is a way to break through any dependency and addiction, while for some others it has become a lesson on how to use VPNs. The idea behind the porn ban in India is clear – the government wants to prevent… Continue reading India’s Blanket Porn Ban Completely Misses The Mark, Say Cyber Law Experts (12 November 2018, Beebom)
The Telangana government wants more eyes on the streets to upgrade Hyderabad’s safety. It has asked enterprises, public sectors, residential associations and individuals to install closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs) in and around their premises. More than a lakh CCTVs are expected to be installed across the city in the next few years. The initiative is… Continue reading Sales of surveillance cameras are soaring, raising questions about privacy (30 October 2018, The Economic Times)
Use of the dark web brings in unique challenges for law enforcement agencies in India and raises questions on the loopholes in the laws in place to govern cybercrime in India. Recently, the term ‘dark web’ has been frequently used by the police, whether in the case of the activists recently arrested by the Pune… Continue reading The dark web and how police deal with it (17 September 2018, Indian Express)
With romance scams and matrimonial frauds becoming a growing concern for Mumbai Police, matrimonial websites have protested they can’t verify every account or be held responsible for every person who signs up for an account. However, security experts feel the websites need to do more, for particularly the victims of such frauds. Speaking in the… Continue reading We are intermediaries, can’t verify every account: Matrimonial websites (19 September 2018, Hindustan times)
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ruled that begging is not a criminal offence and struck down laws penalizing it. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar struck down the provisions prosecuting begging under the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act. The bench decriminalised begging and said that prosecution under… Continue reading Begging No More a Criminal Offence: Delhi High Court (8 August 2018, News Gram Desk)
The Indian legal system does indeed have some teeth to tackle instances of fake news or rumours, be they in the real world or online. The problem is that such regulation is largely focused on hate speech and defamation. In reality, as we know, fake news goes much beyond hate speech. “It’s high time that… Continue reading Limited legal options on fake news lead to internet shutdowns ( 9 July 2018, Livemint)