Between April 19 and June 4, 2024, 96 crore Indian voters will elect the 18th Lok Sabha in the largest-ever election in the world. Concurrently, elections will also take place for the Legislative Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim and by-elections for 35 seats in 16 states.
The stakes for our democracy are higher than ever and we’re keeping our eyes on the ways in which technology is shaping electoral processes and outcomes. We are keeping track of and taking action on the following things:
Digital rights on the ballot
We drafted a seven-point agenda on technology and human rights that can be adopted by electoral candidates and political parties in their party manifestos for the 2024 general and state elections. We presented these demands to all political parties (regional and union level) and electoral candidates, urging them to put digital rights at the forefront of their manifesto and ensure that governance initiatives preserve and advance digital rights in the era of digitalisation.
We attempted a similar exercise in 2019 – where we presented a set of demands and reached out to all political parties and candidates to open a channel of communication. This year, we have streamlined these demands into seven broad themes of governance:
I. Digital rights are human rights
II. Technology should lead to inclusion and equality
III. Free speech must be respected
IV. Upholding Informational Privacy
V. Checks on surveillance
VI. Making consumer-facing digital platforms accountable
VII. Ensuring legitimate use of generative AI
How do your political parties fare against our demands?: We have assessed the manifestos released by the BJP, INC, DMK, and CPI(M) and listed all their digital rights adjacent electoral guarantees. Coming up: An analysis of how each party’s guarantees have fared against our 7 themes.
We need your help, here’s how you can: We call on the IFF community and all those who are passionate about digital rights and policy in India to send us inputs, suggestions or feedback on our Digital Rights Manifesto. You can also help by connecting or introducing us to electoral candidates, political parties, or anyone seeking legislative office through the next general and state elections. Write us an email at [email protected] or leave a message via any of our social media channels.
Say no to deepfakes in elections
The rapid proliferation of generative AI technology that has made creating synthetic media easier, cheaper, and faster, has raised challenging questions about trust and integrity. We wrote to electoral candidates, political parties, and parliamentarians, urging them to publicly declare that they will not create or circulate AI-generated synthetic media to deceive or mislead voters in the run-up to and during the 2024 general elections. We also shared the open letter with Parliamentarians, union-level and regional political parties, and their affiliated organisations to ask for their endorsement of this letter. As of now, the letter has been signed by 0 political actors, 15 organisations, and more than 200 individuals.
If you are concerned with the misuse of synthetic media and its impact on our ability to cast an informed and free vote, please consider signing the letter. Each signature strengthens our demands and our attempt to achieve free and fair elections.
Manifesting democracy & digital rights
11 civil society organisations wrote to the Election Commission of India (“ECI”) in a collaborative effort, highlighting the role of technology in affecting electoral processes and outcomes. The letter includes an urgent appeal to the ECI to uphold the integrity of the upcoming elections and hold political parties, candidates, and digital platforms accountable to the voters.
The threats to the electoral integrity outlined in the joint letter include online campaigning and surrogate advertising by political parties, the inadequacy of the current Voluntary Code of Ethics, low transparency around compliance with the Code of Ethics by digital platforms, use of emerging technologies such as deepfakes to spread disinformation and deceive voters, and the deployment of surveillance tools on voters.
Privacy for you?
As political campaigning goes digital, it’s often voter privacy that’s left in the dust. We are unpacking how political parties access personal data of welfare scheme beneficiaries and other potential voters through indirect and often illicit means, to create voter profiles for targeted campaigning, and what the law has to say about it. We look through a brief history of age-old beneficiary politics and assess new-age means to do this, and analyse it against data protection laws and ethical electoral conduct.
Doing the rights thing
As significant platforms for digital communication, what responsibilities do platforms like Meta, X, or YouTube have when it comes to preserving electoral integrity? We’re tackling this question by assessing how platforms have reported about their human rights impact in India.
The first post in this series covers Meta and its second annual Human Rights Report (“2023 Report”). We summarise the updates on India and reiterate the need for releasing a complete human rights impact assessment. We also highlight recent reporting around Meta’s inaction against violative content due to its inability to resist political pressure and stress upon the need for transparent disclosures by platforms.
Digital Rights Are Going Great? Elections Edition
We are increasingly seeing the internet being wielded as a tool of arbitrary executive control by our government, which deepens the divide and excludes vulnerable communities. Instances of indefinite and disproportionate internet shutdowns, threats to net neutrality, and tech-enabled gender violence – all indicate that while Indians are online, our engagement with the internet is not necessarily meaningful. A free, equal and inclusive internet can only be ensured when the rights of users are written into the law, and our institutions invest their time and resources in building rights-affirming, secure and trustworthy legal mechanisms for us to safely make the most of the internet.
In an effort to document all digital rights violations occurring during this election cycle, we will soon be launching the "Digital Rights Are Going Great - Elections Edition" section to track media coverage of such violations. We hope that this section, which will be updated throughout the election period, will serve as a useful repository for researchers, journalists, academicians, civil society, and other stakeholders.
Help us keep track of rights violations during elections
Digital rights and democracy go hand in hand. As we dial up our advocacy efforts to uphold the demands of "Digital Nagriks" this election season, we take this opportunity to thank IFF's community of supporters, volunteers, donors and members. We are able to continue doing what we love, fighting for your rights only because of your unending affection and support. If you want to be a part of our journey, donate to us or sign up to become a member today! Help us keep our eyes open by donating to the IFF.
Important documents
- IFF’s election website #FreeAndFair (Link)
- IFF’s post on use of personal data during political campaigns (Link)
- IFF’s seven-point agenda for political manifestos (Link)
- IFF’s open letter to political candidates and parties on use of deepfakes (Link)
- IFF’s post on the need for an HRIA by Meta (Link)
- Civil society’s letter to the ECI on electoral integrity (Link)