India tightens the screws on online dissent
A bouquet of new laws gives the government huge new powers
JUST HALF a decade ago India was still an analogue country. Only a fifth of its people used the internet, mobile phones were mainly used for making calls, and television and cinema halls were where people went to be entertained. But a combination of ambitious policy, private players and pandemic lockdowns has brought huge change. Today one in two Indians is online, mostly via their phones. The audience for streaming video was 481m last year, up a third from 2021. Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and YouTube each have more users in India than anywhere else.
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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “May be prescribed”
From the January 27th 2024 edition
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