Under India’s New Intermediary Rules, Fundamental Rights Take Backstage
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...
An Analysis of the Banning of the Hong Kong National Party and the Legitimate Restrictions on Freedom of Expression
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...
Ireland Votes to Remove Blasphemy Offence from Constitution
The 37th Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland was passed by referendum on Friday, removing the word ‘blasphemous’ from Article 40.6.1i. In Article 40.6.1, the State guarantees “subject to public...
Persecution of rights activists and voices of dissent in India
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),...
Blocking ride-sharing applications goes against free speech and human progress
Last year, a local court of Buenos Aires ordered the blockage of Uber’s app and website nationwide in Argentina. The decision stated that Uber had to be blocked (and banned)...
Landmark judgment on PSPO Regime has Significant Repercussions for Freedom of Expression
On 2 July 2018, the High Court handed down judgment in Dulgheriu v London Boroughof Ealing [2018] EWHC 1667 (Admin). The case provides crucial insight into the ever lowering threshold...
A Masterpiece of Judicial Avoidance?
Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, 584 U.S. (2018), the U.S. Supreme Court’s blockbuster case, has been decided. The questions in dispute: 1. Can a person, exercising religious...
Indian High Court’s Recognition of a Person’s Right to Live as Transgender – A Bitter-Sweet Pill
In a recent judgement by the Kerala High Court, the court refused to issue a writ of habeas corpus and dismissed a mother’s plea to compel her daughter, referred to...
Internet Shutdowns: The Irony of a Digital Nation?
Between January to May (2018) alone, the Indian government imposed 55 internet shutdowns. An internet shutdown disrupts all electronic communications and services within a geographical location. Often, neither the reason...
(No) Freedom of Speech at Universities?
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...
Cakes and the Conscience Wars
Last week, the U.K. Supreme Court heard argument in Lee v. Ashers Baking Company. The case involves a baker whose Christian beliefs led him to refuse to bake a cake...
The Assault on Media Freedom in Myanmar: A Worrying Trend
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...
