RightsCon Toronto 2018

India is one of the largest democracies in the world and it’s internet freedom is deeply at risk as the rise of hindu fundamentalism has led to the creation of  one of the largest surveillance and disinformation apparatuses in the world.  With 22 major languages, 1.3 billion people, there are disparities in technical literacy and a massive landscape of non-standardized mobile tech, platforms, and language solutions. During the 2015 elections the BJP party took advantage of this vulnerable system and built one of the most effective and violent apparatus for harassment, disinformation and violence. This has led to the systematic disenfranchisement of marginalized communities from the internet.

From harassment, to disinformation, to even offline violence as a result of online surveillance the right to privacy and free speech are directly under attack. Further Indian surveillance is shrouded by secrecy with few discussions about India’s Central Monitoring System (CMS) which allows governmental agencies to monitor electronic communications in real time without informing the subject or a judge. And now Indians are facing the ramifications of the compromise of the Aadhaar Id the largest biometric database in the world.

This session will describe the nature of government and corporate surveillance in India and what the impact has been on marginalized communities. This session is key for people wanting to develop for one of the largest android markets in the world as well as for human rights and policy advocates interested in what is happening in the battle for internet freedom in South Asia. With 1 in 6 people in the world being Indian, the challenges we face are not just our problem but are global in scope. Join us to be part of the solution.