SFLC.in in collaboration with Live Law is hosting a panel to commemorate an entire year of communication block in The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This panel will be taking place virtually on the evening of 4th August 2020.
The panel will be discussing internet shutdowns vis a vis national security, misinformation, censorship, content takedown and encryption. The panel will also be discussing the ramification of the communication blockade as well as the road that lies ahead for Jammu and Kashmir as well as India.
The panel will have –
Mr. Manish Tewari – Mr. Tiwari is an Indian lawyer and politician. He is a member of the INC and represents Anandpur Sahib in the 17th Lok Sabha. He was the Minister of Information and Broadcasting from 2012 to 2014 and a Member of Parliament from Ludhiana from 2009 to 2014.
Dr. Gulshan Rai – Dr Rai is the Chief Information Security Officer at the Prime Minister’s Office, Government of India, and a distinguished fellow at ORF. Dr. Rai has over 30 years of experience in Information Technology, including e-governance, cybersecurity, and cyber laws.
Prof Manoj Jha – Prof Jha is an Indian politician who is a member of Rajya Sabha in the Indian Parliament and also the spokesperson of the Rashtriya Janata Dal. He has been a Professor at The Department of the Social Work University Of Delhi.
Ms. Anuradha Bhasin – Ms Bhasin is a journalist with three decades of experience in covering Jammu and Kashmir, with a special focus on border issues, Kashmir conflict, and human rights. She is Executive Editor, Kashmir Times, the oldest English daily in Jammu and Kashmir.
Mr. Faisal Farooqui – Mr. Farooqui is the founder and CEO of MouthShut.com India’s largest consumer review and recommendation platform. He is a highly recognized IT entrepreneur who is among the trailblazers of his generation.
Ms. Sairee Chahal – Ms. Chahal is Founder and CEO of SHEROES –the world’s largest online ecosystem for women. She is on the Board of Directors of Paytm Payments Bank.
The chair for the session and our moderator is Ms. Mishi Choudhary. Ms. Choudhary is a technology lawyer, licensed to practice in New York & India with a decade & a half of experience. She is the Legal Director of the New York-based Software Freedom Law Center & the Founder of http://SFLC.IN.
SFLC.in has been tracking this block on the internet since the beginning. We run an Internet shutdowns Tracker which not only maps the internet disruptions in Kashmir but all over India. Our tracker has recorded shutdowns since 2012. We have also been trying to record the impact of the block by running an Initiative called Voices from Kashmir. We have also been partaking in strategic litigation across various courts in India to fight against arbitrary and illegal internet blocks.
