2024 Elections

#FreeAndFair: Late to the Party(s): How ECI dragged its feet in the 2024 General Election

The general elections to elect the 18th Lok Sabha witnessed the spread of communal content as well as deepfakes, cheapfakes, and other forms of edited media with misleading claims. The ECI’s response to this rapidly developing situation has been overwhelmingly delayed and inadequate.

18 June, 2024

7 min read

Tejasi Panjiar &

Shravani Nag Lanka

Internet Freedom Foundation

The Persistence of Resistance

With tides turning around us, what will stand unchanged is IFF’s purpose and vision to preserve digital rights and freedoms and uphold constitutional principles, our individual goals as human rights advocates, and broader societal values championed day in and day out by civil society organisations.

05 June, 2024

3 min read

FreeAndFair

What are you voting for?: A critical analysis of political party manifestos

This post aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of all technology-related electoral guarantees in the 2024 manifestos of these 5 parties and assess if these guarantees implicate digital rights and freedoms.

06 May, 2024

8 min read

APAAR ID

One nation, One student ID, zero law or policy to back it up #WhatAreYouVotingFor

The BJP manifesto promises “100% implementation” of the Aadhaar-linked APAAR student ID which centrally stores a large volume of student personal and academic data—but the coercive pan-India exercise is operating without any policy document or accountability from Ministries.

01 May, 2024

10 min read

#FreeAndFair: Launching IFF’s Election Website

As the country gears up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, we watch every technological development that may affect electoral integrity. Visit the IFF election website freeandfair.in to read about IFF’s actions and efforts.

19 April, 2024

5 min read

Your personal data, their political campaign? Beneficiary politics and the lack of law

As the 2024 elections inch closer, we look into how political parties can access personal data of welfare scheme beneficiaries and other potential voters through indirect and often illicit means, to create voter profiles for targeted campaigning, and what the law has to say about it.

10 April, 2024

6 min read

Press Release: Civil society organisations express urgent concerns over the integrity of the 2024 general elections to the Lok Sabha

11 civil society organisations wrote to the ECI, highlighting the role of technology in affecting electoral outcomes. The letter includes an urgent appeal to the ECI to uphold the integrity of the upcoming elections and hold political actors and digital platforms accountable to the voters.

08 April, 2024

2 min read

MeitY

A DM from the PM (and the storm it stirred)

Last week, millions of WhatsApp users received a message from the Ministry of Electronics & IT, undersigned by the Prime Minister, asking for feedback on schemes introduced by the incumbent government. We unravel what this means for your privacy and the electoral process.

22 March, 2024

7 min read

Tejasi Panjiar &

Deepfakes

Read our Open Letter to Electoral Candidates & Parliamentary Representatives on the Impact of Deepfakes on Electoral Outcomes

With endorsement from civil society organisations and individuals, we wrote to electoral candidates, political parties, and parliamentarians, urging them to publicly declare that they will not use deepfake technologies to create deceptive or misleading synthetic content for the 2024 Elections.

26 February, 2024

3 min read

Disha Verma &