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Human Rights in India in Digital Age

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Human rights in India in the digital age are protected and promoted through various laws, policies, and initiatives. However, challenges and concerns remain. Here’s an overview:

Laws and Policies:

  1. Information Technology Act, 2000 (amended in 2008)
  2. Right to Information Act, 2005
  3. Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections on cybercrime
  4. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (includes online harassment)
  5. Draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019
  6. National Digital Communications Policy, 2018

Challenges:

  1. Online censorship and content moderation
  2. Digital surveillance and data privacy concerns
  3. Cyberbullying and online harassment
  4. Fake news and misinformation
  5. Digital divide and unequal access
  6. Online hate speech and communalism

Initiatives:

  1. Digital India programme
  2. Aadhaar (unique identity) programme
  3. National Cyber Security Policy, 2013
  4. Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)
  5. Cybercrime reporting portal

Human Rights Issues:

  1. Freedom of speech and expression online
  2. Right to privacy and data protection
  3. Right to access information and knowledge
  4. Women’s rights online (safety, empowerment)
  5. Children’s rights online (protection, education)
  6. Rights of marginalized communities (digital inclusion)

Key Players:

  1. Government of India
  2. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
  3. Ministry of Home Affairs
  4. Judiciary (Supreme Court, High Courts)
  5. Civil society organizations (e.g., Centre for Internet and Society, Internet Freedom Foundation)
  6. Private sector (tech companies, ISPs)

Landmark Cases:

  1. Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015) – on online free speech
  2. Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India (2017) – on right to privacy
  3. Faheema Shirin v. State of Kerala (2019) – on online harassment

Reports and Resources:

  1. India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) reports
  2. Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) reports
  3. Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) reports
  4. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports on India
  5. UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) reports on India

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