Catergory

Social Media

WhatTheBlock

Twitter/X Corp 's legal challenge before the Karnataka High Court spotlights illegal take down orders being used as parallel process and a censorship portal

X Corp. (formerly Twitter) is challenging the government’s misuse of Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act to issue takedown orders, bypassing Section 69A safeguards. It also exposed ‘Sahyog,’ an illegal censorship portal.
21 March, 2025
8 min read
Apar GuptaApar Gupta, Gayatri MalhotraGayatri Malhotra & Rubayya TasneemRubayya Tasneem
CCI

Analysis of the NCLAT order on Interim Application: Partial Relief, User Safeguards Unchanged

On 18 November 2024, the CCI imposed a ₹213.14 crore penalty on Meta and WhatsApp for anti-competitive practices related to their 2021 Privacy Policy. In response, they filed appeals before the NCLAT, seeking an interim stay on the order.
27 January, 2025
4 min read
Injila Muslim ZaidiInjila Muslim Zaidi
CCI

The Privacy-Antitrust Paradox? Analysing the CCI’s Penalty Order against Meta and WhatsApp.

On 18 November 2024, the CCI fined Meta and WhatsApp ₹213.14 crore for anti-competitive practices under their 2021 Privacy Policy. The order highlights Meta’s dominance, data-driven advantages, and the privacy-antitrust overlap. Meta has appealed to the NCLAT, challenging the CCI’s jurisdiction.
20 January, 2025
7 min read
Naman KumarNaman Kumar
artificial intelligence

The Opt out conundrum: Analysis of web scrapping to train AI models

This post analyses the recent debate that exposed social media platforms using user data to train AI models, often without explicit user consent.
19 December, 2024
7 min read
Karthika RajmohanKarthika Rajmohan & Shravani Nag LankaShravani Nag Lanka
Social Media

Like, Share, Prescribe? A comparative analysis of five state-level digital media/influencer policies

Through research and using the RTI, we have accessed state-level digital media and influencer-centric policies of various Indian states. In this post, we attempt to critically assess the impact of state-sponsored financial incentives for digital creators and influencers on the right to free speech.
07 November, 2024
14 min read
Shravani Nag LankaShravani Nag Lanka, Injila Muslim ZaidiInjila Muslim Zaidi, Tejasi PanjiarTejasi Panjiar, Prateek WaghrePrateek Waghre, Disha VermaDisha Verma & Karthika RajmohanKarthika Rajmohan
meta

Instagram Wants to Throttle Politics

Meta rolls out a feature limiting recommendation of political content on Instagram and Threads before an important election cycle but with little to no transparency or informed consent.
04 April, 2024
7 min read
Tejasi PanjiarTejasi Panjiar
Social Media

#DoTheRightsThing: Meta’s HRIA for India

Gearing up for the 2024 general elections, we bring you #DoTheRightsThing. This series aims to assess the reporting on human rights impact undertaken by significant platforms—the first in line, Meta's 2023 annual Human Rights Report.
14 October, 2023
8 min read
Tejasi PanjiarTejasi Panjiar & Prateek WaghrePrateek Waghre
IT Rules amendments, 2023

“Intermediaries can decide if they want to take down ‘fake’ information” - The Union Government concludes its submissions in petition challenging the IT Amendment Rules, 2023

During its submissions before the Bombay HC in a challenge to the IT Amendment Rules, 2023, the Union Govt clarified that this fact check unit will focus on patently false govt-related content, and that its role is only to flag, leaving the final call to intermediaries.
28 September, 2023
4 min read
Tanmay SinghTanmay Singh & Gayatri MalhotraGayatri Malhotra
UNESCO

Our comments on Draft 2.0 of the UNESCO Guidelines on Regulating Digital Platforms

We submitted our comments on draft 2.0 of the UNESCO Guidelines on Regulating Digital Platforms (“Guidelines”) on March 08, 2023. Having participated in the consultation for draft 1.1 of the Guidelines, we built upon our existing comments and inserted additional analysis.
13 March, 2023
4 min read
Tejasi PanjiarTejasi Panjiar & Prateek WaghrePrateek Waghre
Social Media

A round-up of WhatsApp’s failed attempts to block the Competition Commission’s investigation

In October 2021, IFF submitted expert information in the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) suo moto investigation into potential anti-competitive practices of WhatsApp Inc. (‘WhatsApp).
31 October, 2022
5 min read
Tanmay SinghTanmay Singh

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