'It is unconscionable to toy with connectivity amidst unprecedented violence and unfathomable human suffering,' the digital rights non-profit Access Now has said.
Author: The Wire
A joint report by Human Rights Watch and Internet Freedom Foundation documents how India's internet shutdowns are often unwarranted, unchecked and harm those poor and marginalised people whom the 'Digital India' project seeks to uplift.
As per the new orders, internet in the state will be suspended until Tuesday, March 21, noon in the wake of the developing situation in Punjab.
The grievance appellate committees that will moderate content on social media are not a mode of independent adjudication mechanism and would be subservient to the Union government.
Since 2016, India has accounted for approximately 58% of all shutdowns documented in the Shutdown Tracker Optimization Project (STOP database). India has also beaten Ukraine, which is at number 2 this year. India is the only G20 country that has imposed an internet shutdown more than twice. Russia and Brazil are the other two courtiers that enforced two and one internet shutdowns respectively in 2022.