As activism has become increasingly reliant on social networking, repressive regimes have responded by cutting off internet access. When Hosni Mubarak, a former Egyptian President, leader and military commander, for instance, discovered that protesters were using Facebook to help foment dissent, he ordered the state-controlled ISPs to shut down Egypt’s internet for days. In China,…
“On the one hand, the government is obliged to produce all its information on websites for public viewing under the Right to Information Act (RTI), the implementers of the government schemes cheat people on the ground and show satisfactory implementation on the websites.” – by Osama Manzar [Source: livemint.com, OCT 21 2013]
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Information has the power to change our lives. It can increase the quality of human experience, create new environments to realize our dreams and help us to get beyond problems that trouble our world. Considering today’s India, this is right time to discuss, advocate and strengthen that the right to access information is a basic…
“The dark side of social media is that, within seconds, anything can be blown out of proportion and taken out of context. And it’s very difficult not to get swept up in it all”, said Nicola Formichetti- Italian/Japanese editor. Malicious content, such as fake YouTube videos and morphed photographs, are usually spread rapidly to trigger…
The concept of making Ecocide an international crime has been around for decades. From the 1970s onwards there has been growing support from government, business and communities to make Ecocide the fifth International Crime against peace to stand alongside the crime of Genocide by amending the Rome Statute. It is part of an emerging body…
The role of the Internet grows every election. Soon its uniqueness will no longer be unique. It will play an even bigger role in an election than it currently does. There is going to be a national election that is going to be about the Internet the way that 1984 was about TV for the…
Twitter may not be able to freely monetize Twitter diplomacy, but its characteristic of how much influence 140 characters and broadcasting across the Internet can have. Tweeting is a great way to share thoughts and information with friends and followers, as long as you stay safe, keep it civil, and most importantly, be interesting. We…
Now, Rural India is selling cows, buffaloes on the internet. Black ‘Murrah’ buffalo with short and tightly curled horns for Rs.80,000 and herd of 10 ‘Holstein Friesians’ cows at Rs.6 lakh on the click of the mouse — the Indian online classifieds are moving beyond usual items with increasing internet penetration in smaller towns and villages. Online…
Social media offers huge opportunities for freedom of expression. Individuals are able to see their thoughts traverse the globe in an instant; news – and its interpretation – is not automatically dependent on the filtering process of the media, or of government. The freedom of expression on Internet is a crucial challenge to address in…
India plans to send a formal notification to about 500,000 employees, banning them from US based e-mail service providers such as Gmail America claims that the controversial secret cyber spying programme PRISM run by America’s National Security Agency (NSA) foiled more than 50 potential terrorist plots in as many as 20 countries, including India. “The…