On April 18, 2022, the Delhi High Court held that Domain Name Registrars are intermediaries under sec. 2(1)(w) of India’s 2000 Information Technology Act. Justice C. Hari Shankar rejected the injunction filed by Snapdeal which challenged Domain Name Registrars for using its trademark in domain names...
The conviction of online news outlet Malaysiakini on contempt of court charges threatens press freedom, despite the simultaneous acquittal of editor-in-chief Steven Gan, said ARTICLE 19. The excessive fine imposed on Malaysiakini will have a chilling effect on independent journalism and online...
Indonesia is the latest government to propose a legal framework to coerce social media platforms, apps, and other online service providers to accept local jurisdiction over their content and users’ data policies and practices. And in many ways, its proposal is the most invasive of human rights. Read...
Twitter released a statement saying it plans to continue refusing the Indian government’s orders to ban accounts belonging to journalists, media outlets, and politicians who have been critical of the government’s policies. Read more at the Columbia Journalism Review.
The “right to be forgotten” has been central to the global debate over the balance between individual privacy and freedom of information and of the media in recent years. Such right has been affirmed by the European Court of Justice, as well as later in the UK, although its application in other...
India’s government has threatened to punish employees at Twitter with fines and jail terms of up to seven years for restoring hundreds of accounts it has ordered the company to block. Most accounts were critical of the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi. Read more at BuzzFeed News.
The Supreme Court of India sought responses from the Centre and others on a plea seeking framing of a law to regulate social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and make them responsible for allegedly spreading fake news and hate speeches. Read more at The Quint.
Rules passed in November set broad parameters for the country’s internet regulator to censor online content. Pakistan’s government says it will review the regulations that rights groups have decried as a draconian measure to limit freedom of speech and increase internet surveillance. Read more at Al...
Users of major mobile carriers can no longer access a service that detailed the personal information of police officers, a possible sign that the city is turning to tactics used in mainland China. Read more at The New York Times.
Ankara has imposed advertising bans on Twitter, Periscope and Pinterest after they failed to appoint local representatives in Turkey under a new social media law, according to decisions published on Tuesday. Read more from Reuters.
Three prominent human rights activists have accused Zoom of disrupting or shutting down their accounts because they were linked to events to mark the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre or were to discuss China’s measures to exert control over Hong Kong. From The Guardian.