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The Suno India Show

Information Control: What blocking the BBC documentary on PM Modi means

Feb 17, 2023
26:20

‘India: The Modi Question’ is a two-part documentary series by the BBC about the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his relationship with the Muslim minority in India. The government has used the emergency provisions of IT Rules 2021 to take down the documentary from websites as well as social media posts with links or snippets of the documentary. Screenings of the documentary in universities around the country have been disrupted by university administration and police. There are two petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the blocking of the documentary by the government. In February, there was an Income Tax survey at the BBC office in Delhi in which employees’ phones were taken and laptops were scanned by the IT Department.

This is part 1 of a miniseries on The Suno India Show examining how the Centre is limiting public access to information with laws and amendments. For this episode about the blocking of the BBC documentary, host Suryatapa Mukherjee spoke to Tejasi Panjiar an Associate Policy Counsel at the Internet Freedom Foundation. IFF is an NGO that advocates for digital rights and liberties, dealing with online freedom, privacy, net neutrality, and innovation.

MIB adviser's tweets declaring online ban 
Centre Violated Citizens' Right To Know By Blocking BBC Documentary On Modi : N Ram, Prashant Bhushan & Mahua Moitra Tell Supreme Court 
IT(Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 English.pdf 
Section 69A in The Information Technology Act, 2000 
BBC documentary ‘blocking’: Ruling in The Leaflet’s case becomes basis for challenge
'Emergency': From John Cusack to Prashant Bhushan, the List of 50 Tweets the Modi Govt Has Censored 
There is no ‘ban’ on the BBC Modi film, why are universities clamping down on it? | The News Minute 
Finding 404: A Report on Website Blocking in India | SFLC.in 
Indian tax authority raids BBC after critical documentary | CPJ Asia
Editors Guild India statement 
Public Feedback On Fact Checking Will Strengthen IT Rules: Minister 

See sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

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