NICT and media trend: Developmental Implications-I
Prior to the impact of globalisation in India, broadcasting was largely controlled by the government. A combination of new technologies, loosening of the broadcasting rules and liberalisation has led to a revolution in Indian television and radio.
IN THE early years of the World Wide Web, there was much talk about the wonderful potential of new communication technologies for education, democratisation and cultural participation and of unheard possibilities of human expression and exchange across geographical boundaries. Unfortunately this potential remains undeveloped and economic interest is now dominating the public sphere of the data networks. Although the Internet, like many other innovations including mobile phones services and the most common search engine Google, was originally developed outside competitive commercial markets, the so-called new economy has failed miserably. The development of the essential technologies of a knowledge-based society has largely been surrendered to the "invisible hands" of the markets. But democratisation and freedom of expression should not be left to hysteric stock markets or global entrepreneurs.
Prior to the impact of globalisation in India, broadcasting was largely controlled by the government. A combination of new technologies, loosening of the broadcasting rules and liberalisation has led to a revolution in Indian television and radio. Few years ago, the Indian government gave up its monopoly over the airwaves. The government has liberalised its foreign investment policy and allowed foreign direct investment in broadcasting, with foreign institutional investors allowed to own up to 20 per cent of radio stations; 49 per cent of cable networks, direct to home (DTH) satellite and unlinking hubs; 26 per cent of news and current affairs television channels; and 100 per cent of non-news and current affairs television channels. Since then, privately owned TV channels have proliferated. A large number of private channels have been granted broadcasting licenses, mostly to operate on cable and satellite platforms. Since 1992-93 Indian economy has moved to a more open market economy. With the fast growth of communication technology and electronic media, there has been growing public concern to have transparency in governance. While most countries in Asia are not freely allowing the use of satellite-linked cable television, India is more liberal in this regard.
Like the freedom of the press, freedom of this electronic media, is not an absolute right. The complete monopoly of All India Radio is no longer true. In addition to general licenses, local cable operators may run private channels in the local area where they provide cable services. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has also granted community broadcasting licenses to well-established educational institutions and organisations recognised by government at central or state level. These include universities and institutes of technology, as well as management and residential schools. The telecommunications system in India with more than 270 million connections is the third largest in the world. Opened to private players in the 1990s, the tele-density has increased from 12.3 per cent in March 2006 to 23.9 per cent as on December 2007. The share of private sector has increased from 39.2 per cent in 2004 to 72.4 per cent in December 2007. According to The Hindu Survey cable and satellite television now reaches 68 million homes while state-owned television reaches about 112 million homes. Furthermore, certain sectors of society for example, the dalits (‘untouchables’) – are particularly excluded from access to these media.
But private Internet providers have to use the government-owned VSNL as a carrier, which means that their content can be controlled. But the sector is expected to be privatised in the future. The boom in Internet services offers Indians a source of information that will be difficult for the government to stop effectively. With the entry of private players, open competition and the lowering of tariffs, the Internet subscriber base has risen from 140,000 in 1998 to 9.7 million as on September 30, 2007 serving a user base of 19.5 million. While these are large figures, the penetration level is still lower than in many other countries. This is expected to rise significantly over the coming years. Internet access, which is used by 3.5 per cent of the population, is unrestricted, although some states have proposed legislation that would require the registration of customers at internet cafés and the government retains the right to censor the Internet, particularly on the grounds of morality or national security.
Freedom of expression is a human right as laid down in the UN Charter. Likewise, Digital Human Rights (DHRs) ensured that every human being may participate in this medium of digital intercommunication and use its potential freely and unrestrictedly. DHRs are based upon the understanding of communication as motor of civilisation and foundation of individuality as well as communities. The very basic DHRs is the right to access to the electronic domain, the right to privacy, and the right to freedom of expression and association online. Moreover, Digital Ecology is the sphere of electronic information that spans the globe as a sustainable environment. It is in the public interest that these information landscapes are not totally surrendered to or rendered to short term profit or individual control. On the contrary, to ensure democratic debate and participation, it is necessary to guarantee a public sphere that is independent of direct state or economic control. A rich public domain and the establishment of a Digital Commons is a prerequisite of a healthy and sustainable information environment.
Most of new media and Information and communication technologies (ICT) have a military control technology background. The primary concern regarding these technologies is their use for the purposes of political control and repression. Apart from fully simulated digital theaters of battle, this ranges from high-tech non-lethal weapons to an all pervasive surveillance and dataveillance system that is spreading in public places and working its way into personal ICT applications.
This emerging totality of surveillance conflicts with another digital human right, that of privacy and anonymity which is a necessary prerequisite for true freedom of expression. Also the involuntary exploitation of the data body that is strongly driven by economic interest is an aspect of this attack on the individual or on groups. Positively defined, access to information and to digital communication channels is another basic human right. Digital exclusion is not only the dividing line between north and south, it is also developing within the rich western democracies. It seems that a large segment of the population will be excluded from the high-tech informational economy and become obsolete for the production cycle. But even those who manage to find a place in the economy of symbol manipulation have to expect a deterioration and homogenisation of their workplace and a narrowing of their possibilities of self-expression. Digital computer slaves and non-human expert systems are in competition with the human workforce. Sure enough, machines do not mind to work 24/7 and they are not tempted by trade union membership.
Although generally unrestricted, the Internet has been subjected to some constraints. In 2004, a Yahoo! Groups discussion group was blocked because of fears that it had links with banned separatists. The authorities also blocked Internet access to several blogs and websites in July 2006, following train bombings in Mumbai. While the government of India continually lectures the world about our being some larger than life information economy superpower, it is deeply undermining the very basis of the conditions for a domestic 'information driven economy' to flourish, by regimenting and controlling information for consumption and leisure. The past record of the Indian state of invoking 'national security' regarding Internet access and control speaks for itself. In 1999, during the heat off the Kargil war, the leading Pakistani Daily was blocked by VSNL, the then leading government run Internet service provider. Indian Parliament passed the draconian Information Technology Act in May 2000 to target 'cyber crime', which it defines as unauthorised access to electronic data. Cyber cafés and homes of Internet users can be searched at any time without a warrant on suspicion of cyber crime and those who set up "anti-Indian" websites can be jailed for five years. The Mumbai police announced in May 2001 that anyone wanting to use a cyber café there would need to show an ID, driving licence or student card or for foreigners a passport or plane ticket.
POTA the anti-terrorist law of 2001 (the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance), brought in the wake of the September 11 attacks, allows the government to monitor all kinds of electronic communications, including personal e-mail and voice data without legal restriction. Tehelka.com was shamelessly victimised following its revelations about the corruption in defence sales. For two years, the Tehelka was harassed and hounded and the website's debts grew to a point of collapse. Police in New Delhi arrested the journalist Iftikhar Gilani, New Delhi Bureau Chief of the Kashmir Times on charges of spying for Pakistan on September 7, 2002. His 'grave crime' was downloading an article from the Internet, which was already freely available in print in libraries in India. But somehow human rights community in India hasn’t gotten organised to work on issues of cyber rights and shrinking freedom and restrictions with regards to electronic data surveillance and Internet censorship
Like the freedom of the press, freedom of this electronic media, is not an absolute right. The complete monopoly of All India Radio is no longer true. In addition to general licenses, local cable operators may run private channels in the local area where they provide cable services. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has also granted community broadcasting licenses to well-established educational institutions and organisations recognised by government at central or state level. These include universities and institutes of technology, as well as management and residential schools. The telecommunications system in India with more than 270 million connections is the third largest in the world. Opened to private players in the 1990s, the tele-density has increased from 12.3 per cent in March 2006 to 23.9 per cent as on December 2007. The share of private sector has increased from 39.2 per cent in 2004 to 72.4 per cent in December 2007. According to The Hindu Survey cable and satellite television now reaches 68 million homes while state-owned television reaches about 112 million homes. Furthermore, certain sectors of society for example, the dalits (‘untouchables’) – are particularly excluded from access to these media.
But private Internet providers have to use the government-owned VSNL as a carrier, which means that their content can be controlled. But the sector is expected to be privatised in the future. The boom in Internet services offers Indians a source of information that will be difficult for the government to stop effectively. With the entry of private players, open competition and the lowering of tariffs, the Internet subscriber base has risen from 140,000 in 1998 to 9.7 million as on September 30, 2007 serving a user base of 19.5 million. While these are large figures, the penetration level is still lower than in many other countries. This is expected to rise significantly over the coming years. Internet access, which is used by 3.5 per cent of the population, is unrestricted, although some states have proposed legislation that would require the registration of customers at internet cafés and the government retains the right to censor the Internet, particularly on the grounds of morality or national security.
Freedom of expression is a human right as laid down in the UN Charter. Likewise, Digital Human Rights (DHRs) ensured that every human being may participate in this medium of digital intercommunication and use its potential freely and unrestrictedly. DHRs are based upon the understanding of communication as motor of civilisation and foundation of individuality as well as communities. The very basic DHRs is the right to access to the electronic domain, the right to privacy, and the right to freedom of expression and association online. Moreover, Digital Ecology is the sphere of electronic information that spans the globe as a sustainable environment. It is in the public interest that these information landscapes are not totally surrendered to or rendered to short term profit or individual control. On the contrary, to ensure democratic debate and participation, it is necessary to guarantee a public sphere that is independent of direct state or economic control. A rich public domain and the establishment of a Digital Commons is a prerequisite of a healthy and sustainable information environment.
Most of new media and Information and communication technologies (ICT) have a military control technology background. The primary concern regarding these technologies is their use for the purposes of political control and repression. Apart from fully simulated digital theaters of battle, this ranges from high-tech non-lethal weapons to an all pervasive surveillance and dataveillance system that is spreading in public places and working its way into personal ICT applications.
This emerging totality of surveillance conflicts with another digital human right, that of privacy and anonymity which is a necessary prerequisite for true freedom of expression. Also the involuntary exploitation of the data body that is strongly driven by economic interest is an aspect of this attack on the individual or on groups. Positively defined, access to information and to digital communication channels is another basic human right. Digital exclusion is not only the dividing line between north and south, it is also developing within the rich western democracies. It seems that a large segment of the population will be excluded from the high-tech informational economy and become obsolete for the production cycle. But even those who manage to find a place in the economy of symbol manipulation have to expect a deterioration and homogenisation of their workplace and a narrowing of their possibilities of self-expression. Digital computer slaves and non-human expert systems are in competition with the human workforce. Sure enough, machines do not mind to work 24/7 and they are not tempted by trade union membership.
Although generally unrestricted, the Internet has been subjected to some constraints. In 2004, a Yahoo! Groups discussion group was blocked because of fears that it had links with banned separatists. The authorities also blocked Internet access to several blogs and websites in July 2006, following train bombings in Mumbai. While the government of India continually lectures the world about our being some larger than life information economy superpower, it is deeply undermining the very basis of the conditions for a domestic 'information driven economy' to flourish, by regimenting and controlling information for consumption and leisure. The past record of the Indian state of invoking 'national security' regarding Internet access and control speaks for itself. In 1999, during the heat off the Kargil war, the leading Pakistani Daily was blocked by VSNL, the then leading government run Internet service provider. Indian Parliament passed the draconian Information Technology Act in May 2000 to target 'cyber crime', which it defines as unauthorised access to electronic data. Cyber cafés and homes of Internet users can be searched at any time without a warrant on suspicion of cyber crime and those who set up "anti-Indian" websites can be jailed for five years. The Mumbai police announced in May 2001 that anyone wanting to use a cyber café there would need to show an ID, driving licence or student card or for foreigners a passport or plane ticket.
POTA the anti-terrorist law of 2001 (the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance), brought in the wake of the September 11 attacks, allows the government to monitor all kinds of electronic communications, including personal e-mail and voice data without legal restriction. Tehelka.com was shamelessly victimised following its revelations about the corruption in defence sales. For two years, the Tehelka was harassed and hounded and the website's debts grew to a point of collapse. Police in New Delhi arrested the journalist Iftikhar Gilani, New Delhi Bureau Chief of the Kashmir Times on charges of spying for Pakistan on September 7, 2002. His 'grave crime' was downloading an article from the Internet, which was already freely available in print in libraries in India. But somehow human rights community in India hasn’t gotten organised to work on issues of cyber rights and shrinking freedom and restrictions with regards to electronic data surveillance and Internet censorship
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