Free Speech in India 2018: The State Rolls On A Report by the FreeSpeechCollective 0 Free Speech in India 2018: The State Rolls On A Report by the FreeSpeechCollective Date of Release: 31 December 2018 Author: Geeta Seshu Editor: Laxmi Murthy Contributors: Ashlin Mathew, Geeta Seshu, Malini Subramaniam, Laxmi Murthy, Shone Satheesh Cover Image: Journalists in the thick of reporting army operations in Srinagar on 8 December 2018, during which a 14-year old militant was killed . Credit: Kamran Yousuf Note: The incidents in this report have been diligently cross-checked via multiple sources. Information about discrepancies or additions can be sent to:
[email protected] This report can be freely reproduced for non-commercial use, with attribution and link: https://freespeechcollective.in Table of Contents I Killings of journalists II Attacks III Detention and Arrests IV Threats V Censorship VI Online Media: Arrests, Shutdowns and Regulation VII Defamation suits VIII Contempt of court IX Sedition X Privacy and Surveillance XI Government Control, Policy and Regulation XII Judicial orders 1 Overview: The State flexes its muscles, other assaults continue unabated Free speech in India came under attack on all fronts in 2018. Alarmingly, even as assaults continued unabated, the State was all set to take on the mantle of the chief censor with repressive regulatory and surveillance mechanisms being put in place even as the year was winding down. There was no respite from the killings and attacks on media professionals, censorship of news, an unprecedented number of legal notices and defamation cases and sedition cases filed against journalists, social and political activists and citizens who voiced dissent.