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OxHRH

The Human Rights Implications of China’s Social Credit System

Vrinda Vinayak - 6th September 2019

Media Privacy and Communications

The issue of importing human rights to the digital sphere, especially in the context of state surveillance, has elicited extensive debate. China’s social credit system is the epitome of the disastrous consequences of technological advancement without a commensurate commitment to human rights. This system surveils every online and offline action of Chinese citizens, and increases […]

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OxHRH

A Tale of Two Prime Ministers? Internet Shutdowns Gagging Free speech in Ethiopia

Yohannes Eneyew Ayalew - 18th July 2019

Freedom of Expression| Media Privacy and Communications

In the month of June 2019, Ethiopia encountered two major internet shutdown measures following a potential fear of leakage of school exams over the internet, and high profile assassinations. This blog post briefly sheds light on internet shutdowns during the reign of successive prime ministers of Ethiopia, and its impact on free speech. Internet shutdown […]

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OxHRH

Canadian Children have a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy at School

Michelle Bright - 20th March 2019

Media Privacy and Communications

In R. v. Jarvis, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that children can reasonably expect that they will not be the subject of surreptitious recording by their teachers at school. High school teacher Ryan Jarvis was charged with voyeurism contrary to section 162(1)(c) of the Criminal Code of Canada after he secretly recorded female students while […]

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Under India’s New Intermediary Rules, Fundamental Rights Take Backstage

Purushotham Kittane - 15th March 2019

Freedom of Expression| Media Privacy and Communications

The Indian Government’s Information Technology Ministry had recently invited comments on proposed amendments to the existing guidelines for intermediaries mainly governing how social networks (and other intermediaries) facilitate the flow of information. Through this, the State seeks to come down harshly on the spread of fake news. This comes to fore as the world’s largest […]

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OxHRH

India’s Expanding Surveillance Scheme Violates the Right to Privacy

Aniruddh Nigam - 5th February 2019

Media Privacy and Communications

On 20 December, 2018, the Ministry of Home Affairs in India issued an office order authorising a plethora of security and intelligence agencies to intercept, monitory and decrypt all personal data on computers and networks in India. The carte blanche nature of this authorisation raises significant concerns for the protection of the right to privacy in […]

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OxHRH

An Analysis of the Banning of the Hong Kong National Party and the Legitimate Restrictions on Freedom of Expression

Stephanie Tai - 28th November 2018

Media Privacy and Communications

  On 24th September 2018, Secretary of Security John Lee issued a ban on the Hong Kong National Party (“the National Party”) under the Societies Ordinance on the basis that the National Party posed a “real threat to national security”. Section 8(1)(a) of the Societies Ordinance states that the Secretary for Security may prohibit the […]

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OxHRH

Aadhaar Verdict: A Middle Path

Nidhi Singh and Kushagra Mishra - 1st November 2018

Media Privacy and Communications

The Supreme Court of India has emerged as a strong force in safeguarding the Constitutional values, and has had a memorable term of landmark verdicts, dealing with questions that relate to privacy, individual liberty and sexual freedom, to name a few. The Supreme Court in mid-2017 took the issue of ‘citizen’s privacy’, as discussed here. […]

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OxHRH

Persecution of rights activists and voices of dissent in India

Vedika Pareek and Manya Oberoi - 8th October 2018

Media Privacy and Communications

Recently, in a series of synchronized raids carried throughout India, various human rights activists and vocal critics of the ruling government were arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), an anti-terror law. These arrests have been widely criticized for being politically motivated as they are aimed at curbing the right of free speech and […]

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OxHRH

(No) Freedom of Speech at Universities?

Ewelina U. Ochab - 13th June 2018

Media Privacy and Communications

Universities are meant to be places where freedom of speech flourishes. The issue of free speech in universities in the UK has been recently examined by the Joint Committee on Human Rights (the Committee), a parliamentary committee consisting of representatives of both Houses of the Parliament. The Committee considered the challenges encountered by students, lecturers […]

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OxHRH

The Assault on Media Freedom in Myanmar: A Worrying Trend

Didon Misri - 25th April 2018

Media Privacy and Communications

When Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in the November 2015 elections in Myanmar, bringing an end to nearly fifty years of authoritarian military rule, many local journalists saw the result as a triumph for press freedom. Two years into the democratically elected government’s term, however, press freedom […]

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