American Tech Giants Are Partnering with India's Strongman Leader to
Crackdown on Dissent
Twitter's actions are quite a departure from 2019 when it delayed a network
upgrade in Iran at the behest of the US government for fear that it could
interfere with anti-government demonstrations.
by Alan Macleod
February 12th, 2021
Mint Press
By Alan Macleod
The far-right government of Narendra Modi is attempting to silence dissent
online amid enormous national farmers' protests - and it is finding willing
partners in Silicon Valley social media giants.
Earlier this week, the Indian government successfully lobbied YouTube to
remove a number of videos, including a popular Punjabi song that had become
an anthem to the protest movement. Indians trying to access the song
"Ailaan" by Kanwar Grewal, a video amassing over six million views in just
four months, are met with the message: "This content is not available on
this country domain due to a legal complaint from the government."
The Modi administration has also sought the removal of over 1,100 Twitter
accounts it claims were spreading disinformation. Twitter has largely
complied with the request, permanently deleting at least 500 accounts and
blocking an unspecified number of others from view inside India. It also
announced that it had agreed to suppress certain hashtags and search terms
associated with the protest movement that it deemed to be "harmful,"
although it did not specify which ones or what its criteria was for making
the decision. However, it claims it did not take action against the many
journalists Modi had ordered removed from social media.
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This is quite the departure from Twitter's actions amid protests in Iran in
2019. There, the service was set to temporarily shut down for a network
upgrade. However, at the behest of the U.S. government, it delayed its
upgrade in order that Iranians could continue using the service to organize
and coordinate anti-government demonstrations.
On Tuesday, authorities raided the offices and homes of senior journalists
at NewsClick, a progressive independent media outlet in Delhi that had taken
the lead in covering the monthslong farmers' rebellion. A number of other
reporters are still in custody, according to the Committee to Protect
Journalists.
India is almost universally described as the world's largest democracy.
However, the increasing restraints on a free press have put that title in
question. The country dropped to 142nd (of 180 states) on Reporters Without
Borders' index of media freedom last year. Eight journalists have been
charged with crimes (including sedition) for their actions while covering
the protests. Four have been killed in the past 12 months. And while online
censorship is often associated with states such as China, India leads the
world in Internet shutdowns, with more than all other nations combined.
Many, including in conflict regions like Jammu and Kashmir, last for
hundreds of days at a time. There were 83 shutdowns across India in 2020 and
469 since 2012. Last week, the capital Delhi had its Internet temporarily
suspended.
Money talks
Prime Minister Modi boasts an enormous online presence. He has over 65
million followers on Twitter, more than any political figure except Barack
Obama. He also has over 51 million Instagram followers and owns the
seventy-eighth most "liked" Facebook page. Modi and his Hindu nationalist
BJP party have used their online empire to directly reach hundreds of
millions of Indians through their smartphones, encouraging them to develop a
"personal connection" with their prime minister.
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As such, he is a massive money spinner for Silicon Valley, his presence
being a primary factor in the growth of the gigantic Indian market. The fact
that Modi is not only the source of huge profits for social media but also
ultimately in charge of the bodies that regulate them makes it particularly
difficult for them to reject his requests. As such, this highlights the
conflict in interests between making money and providing a service that aids
the free flow of vital information.
The farmers' protests were sparked in the fall after the government's
attempts to change the way in which the country's food producers sold their
crops. For decades, government buyers had guaranteed a minimum price on 23
essential commodities. However, the Modi administration is attempting to
change the laws to allow private buyers into the market. Farmers fear that
this will allow the government to retreat, leaving India's small farmers at
the mercy of international finance and agribusiness corporations. The
government has refused to pass laws forcing new private buyers to offer a
minimum price. It is also proposing removing some of the crops from the
essential commodity list, an action that opens the door to speculation and
hoarding.
In late November, an estimated 250 million people joined a general strike
organized by farmers, regarded as the largest industrial action event in
world history. The Biden administration, however, has backed the
pro-free-market, pro-corporate changes Modi is proposing. "The United States
welcomes steps that would improve the efficiency of India's markets and
attract greater private sector investment," a State Department official
said.
With Biden in his corner, it is doubtful that the big social media companies
will provide a great deal of resistance to Modi's censorship demands,
meaning that India's fragile democracy might join its farmers in being the
big loser out of this situation.
Feature photo | A policeman pushes a