India v. Platforms
The Lawfare Podcast
The Lawfare Institute
4.7 • 6.4K Ratings
🗓️ 3 June 2021
⏱️ 48 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Tensions between major social media platforms and the Indian government have reached a new high. In recent months, India has demanded that Twitter remove a range of content critical of the government and has even sent police to Twitter’s offices in New Delhi in what Twitter has called “intimidation tactics”. The government recently instituted new rules that exert strong control over how companies operating in India govern their platforms—rules that have already prompted a legal challenge from Whatsapp in Indian court.
On today’s episode of the Lawfare Podcast's Arbiters of Truth series on our online information ecosystem, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Nikhil Pahwa to put these latest clashes between platforms and the Indian government in context. Nikhil is a technology journalist and digital rights activist and the founder of the Indian technology publication MediaNama—and he’s been watching this story closely. Whatever happens, this showdown in the world’s largest democracy will have lasting implications, not only within India but around the globe as well. It’s a geopolitical battle over who gets to assert sovereignty over the internet, and how.
Listeners who want more background on the subject of today’s episode might also be interested in this episode with Chinmayi Arun on the Indian government’s clashes with social media, from February 2021.
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The following podcast contains advertising to access an ad-free version of the LawFair |
| 0:07.2 | podcast become a material supporter of LawFair at patreon.com slash LawFair. |
| 0:14.7 | That's patreon.com slash LawFair. |
| 0:18.2 | Also, check out LawFair's other podcast offerings, rational security, chatter, LawFair |
| 0:25.6 | no bull and the aftermath. |
| 0:32.6 | Can we have a platform who says that these orders are not in compliance with free speech |
| 0:37.5 | laws in the country, they're not compliant with the fundamental right to freedom of expression. |
| 0:42.7 | So this needs to be resolved because otherwise with this shout of secrecy, this is going |
| 0:48.5 | to keep happening. |
| 0:50.2 | And I would agree with Twitter that these rules that have come out are not in consonance |
| 0:55.2 | with Indian law. |
| 0:56.2 | There is nothing in the information technology at that actually allows the government to |
| 1:02.5 | create these kind of obligations on platforms. |
| 1:07.6 | I'm Quinted Jurassic and this is the LawFair podcast June 3rd 2021. |
| 1:15.6 | Tensions between major social media platforms in the Indian government have reached a new |
| 1:19.6 | high. |
| 1:26.1 | In recent months, India has demanded that Twitter remove a range of content critical of the |
| 1:29.1 | government and has even sent police to Twitter's offices in New Delhi in what Twitter has called |
| 1:34.8 | an intimidation tactic. |
| 1:36.2 | The government also recently instituted new rules that exert strong control over how companies |
| 1:42.6 | operating in India govern their platforms. |
| 1:45.3 | Rules that have already prompted a legal challenge from WhatsApp and Indian court. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Lawfare Institute, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Lawfare Institute and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.