The many faces of Digital India
There's much brouhaha over the prime minister's speech before the gathering of Silicon Valley CEOs. The I-ways over highways quip is tired, but it seems to have everyone there in an exuberant tizzy. As always, the rhetoric and promises are impressive and one supports every endeavour of the prime minister in realising them. The media (though mostly Indian) is talking all (and only) about Digital India's trip overseas.
Digital India, however, is like that annoying guy in school who sucks the joy out of everything by telling on you or ruining your plans and then tries to be the cool kid the minute he travels abroad. Heck, I'm sure Digital India will return to India after a few days with a douchy American accent.
Heck, Digital India has made such a big deal of itself in the US that Zuckerberg has the Indian flag superimposed on his Facebook profile picture. This is gay-marriage-legalised-in-the-US level huge.
Another thing gay rights and Digital India have in common is that they are vastly dissimilar in the US and in India. Here's how:
Digital India in the US: Technology connects people on values and not identities
"Social media connects people on the strength of human values and not identities. We must ensure that technology is accessible, affordable, and adds value."
Digital India here: Government working on new law similar to 66A
After Section 66A of the Information Technology Act was struck down by the Supreme Court on account of it being unconstitutional and an unreasonable restriction on free speech, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the Centre is working on formulating a new law under IT Act, on the lines of Section 66A.
"The Centre is working on formulating a new law on the lines of Section 66 (A) that was struck down by the SC. There was no conviction in the previous law and thus a law is being formulated that will be strong and which will result in convictions," the chief minister told a leading daily.
To refresh your memory, 66A was about anything but human values, in fact, it subverted the value of being able to opine freely on the internet and resulted in politicians strong arming netizens by having them arrested for dissent.
Digital India in the US: More people in India are getting connected:
"I will now speak of mGovernance. That is the way to go in a country with one billion cell phones, growing at high double digit rates... Digital India is an enterprise for India's transformation on a scale that is, perhaps, unmatched in human history. Farmers in Maharashtra have made a WhatsApp group to share farming tips and techniques."
Digital India here: Government wants access to emails, messages and data
The government, as per a draft encryption policy planned to have access to all encrypted information, including personal emails, messages or even data stored on a private business servers. The policy, now withdrawn, wanted users to store all encrypted communication for at least 90 days and make it available to security agencies, if required. It also expected users to hand over their encryption keys to the government.
Digital India in the US: Equal opportunities to corporates and young professionals
"From large corporates to young professionals in this centre of innovation, each can be part of Digital India story…. Social media connects people on the strength of human values and not identities."
Digital India here: TRAI leaks net neutrality emails
On March 27, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), on its website welcomed in a tiny link, feedback on a consultation paper (118 pages long) on net neutrality. After receiving a response of ever a million emails, TRAI leaked the list of email IDs from which it received responses regarding net neutrality. The list was published on its website and has emails categorised by date.
The fight for net neutrality ensures that the internet is "accessible, affordable and adds value" by affording equal opportunities to tech start-ups and tech giants alike. However, the fate of the fight rests in another direction.
Digital India in the US: Hope and opportunity
"I see tech as a means to empower and as a tool that bridges the distance between hope and opportunity. In this digital age, we have an opportunity to transform lives of people in ways that were hard to imagine a couple of decades ago."
Digital India here: Porn ban
In August, the department of electronics and information technology asked the department of telecom (DoT) to notify internet service providers to block access to 857 URLs it considered pornographic, under the provision of Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 as the content hosted on these websites relate to morality, decency as given in Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India.
The list of websites for also included non-porn websites like College Humour, 9gag, Barstool Sports, Shit Brix.com and Pop URL, among others. The DoT, which was directed to block the 857 websites in a bid to curb child pornography also banned portals that had absolutely nothing to do with child pornography.
While this order too was later revoked, the knee-jerk reaction was bizarre and unwarranted.
Way to kill our hopes and opportunities. Though to be fair, it truly transformed our lives in ways that were hard to imagine decades ago.