Use of Facial Recognition Technology in India: A Function Creep Breaching Privacy
Criminal investigation has become convenient for the law enforcement agencies after the advent of “Facial Recognition Technology” (FRT) in India. Regardless of its benefits, it’s a threat to privacy and...
The constitutionality of section 10 of the South African Equality Act: a case for balancing the rights to equality, dignity and freedom of expression
Section 10 of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (“the Equality Act”) has not been without controversy and robust opprobrium. Since its inception, numerous legal academics...
Forgetting liberté: France’s new security law imperils freedom of expression
On Saturday 21 November, despite a nationwide lockdown, thousands took to the streets across France to protest the loi de securité globale (global security law) being debated in the General...
The Redundancy of Opposition: Patriots Only in Hong Kong’s “Legislature”
On 11 November 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) decided to disqualify four members of the emergency sixth-term Hong Kong Legislative Council (the “Decision”), as they...
Taking Free Speech Seriously: The Right to Advocate Secession in Hong Kong
Tony Chung, an advocate of Hong Kong independence, has been charged with secession and conspiring to publish seditious content under the NSL, and consequently denied bail. This blog post compares...
Jammu and Kashmir Media Policy 2020: A Veil Covering Freedoms
Through an order dated 15th May 2020, the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) issued a revised Media Policy 2020 (hereinafter “the Policy”). The Media Policy...
Right to Protest v. Convenience of the Public – The Indian Supreme Court’s Decision on Shaheen Bagh Anti-CAA Protests
On 7 October 2020, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India held that the right to protest guaranteed under the Constitution of India cannot be exercised at public...
Unprecedented onslaught on activists and human rights defenders in Belarus
News stories emerging from Belarus resemble a gruesome shopping list of human rights abuses. Authorities have systematically violated the right to freedom of expression, freedom from torture, freedom of assembly,...
Upsetting the ‘apple’ cart: the latest onslaught on press freedom in Hong Kong
The press is always the first casualty of a new despotism. On 10 August 2020, Jimmy Lai, founder of the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, was arrested in Hong Kong –...
Is the prohibition and criminalisation of hate speech in South Africa constitutional?
South Africa celebrates more than twenty years of democracy based on democratic values, social justice, and protecting human rights. Despite this, racial tension and hate speech occurs with alarming frequency....
Supreme Court of Pakistan grants federal government the power to arbitrarily restrict mobile services
The federal government of Pakistan often issues directions to suspend cellular mobile services, ostensibly for reasons of national security. Mobile services (2G/3G/4G/LTE) are usually ordered to be suspended on specified...
Covid-19 and the Indian Supreme Court’s refusal to lift internet restrictions in Kashmir
The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir had passed an order to restrict the internet speed in the entire Union Territory to 2G. On 11th May 2020, the Indian Supreme...
