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Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

techcrunch.com

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Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#11

Post by duxup »

_jal wrote: post #7
aarongray wrote: post #3

It's really too bad that the two rising tech countries - China and India - have such a third-world approach to censorship on the Internet. You would think they would want to mimic the US's successful formula in hopes of building their presence as a tech powerhouse, but in this area they don't seem to be doing that.

> mimic the US's successful formula You mean the one involving outsourcing IP law enforcement to private cartels amid increasing calls to remove 230 protections from public-facing internet companies?

I feel like anytime someone mentions "man it works in this place" someone has a specific gripe about a case where it doesn't work.

Yes some things need a lot of work, but it's hardly "cut off everyone from the internet" level... not even close.

Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#12

Post by macinjosh »

ThePowerOfFuet wrote: post #2

Can anyone contribute a source which doesn't break EU regulations by forcing me to accept cookies?

> by forcing me to accept cookies

I really don't understand this mindset of a default behavior (e.g. use of cookies) is equivalent to _forcing_ something on someone. You have lots of choices around cookies because the program that stores and shares them is under your own control. Which sites you visit is under your control. Your Internet connection is under your control.

God knows why we need a nanny state that represents a small minority of the world to decide how the world wide web should work.

Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#13

Post by arsalanb »

When I left Kashmir a few months ago, my phone and all its contents were checked by Indian police at the airport. They asked me to unlock and checked photos, WhatsApp texts, etc.

Random arrests and extra-judicial killings of Kashmiris by the Indian state is a quite regular occurrence. A laughable narrative around how they were "Pakistan sponsored terrorists" is usually spun by the media/police nexus.

Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#14

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC »

This is a reminder that without physical security, electronic security is pretty much worthless. The best encryption won't save you from rubberhose cryptanalysis where they beat you until you reveal your key. Clever circumvention technologies such as VPN won't save you when they arrest your for using circumvention technologies.

These are all good things, but we in tech, oftentimes think we can program our way out of bad physical governance. We can't! We need now more than ever to engage with everyone to make sure that we have good physical governments.

Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#18

Post by fennecfoxen »

ThePowerOfFuet wrote: post #2

Can anyone contribute a source which doesn't break EU regulations by forcing me to accept cookies?

This is not the same coverage, but it does seem related, and I'm reasonably sure that the response that is served to Europeans is compliant with European regulations.

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-02-14/india-...

Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#19

Post by radicaldreamer »

arsalanb wrote: post #13

When I left Kashmir a few months ago, my phone and all its contents were checked by Indian police at the airport. They asked me to unlock and checked photos, WhatsApp texts, etc. Random arrests and extra-judicial killings of Kashmiris by the Indian state is a quite regular occurrence. A laughable narrative around how they were "Pakistan sponsored terrorists" is usually spun by the media/police nexus.

Did they manually browse through the data or download it to a computer for further analysis later?

Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#20

Post by definitelyRobot »

As a young tech person in India, this stuff makes me so angry. The ruling party here (BJP) doesn't have any real competition. Which means they can get away with pretty much anything.

They've banned VPNs. They'll chuck you in prison if you speak against the government or a politician. Then they'll brand you as an "anti-nationalist" and openly say to their supporters that you deserve to be shot.

Facial recognition is now being used to identify protestors. Bots and deepfakes are being used to spread propoganda.

Many people are upset, but there's nothing we can do. We can't speak out without fear of being reprimanded. We can vote for other parties, but there's no way that they'll ever win. The majority of the population has blind faith in BJP. The only demographic that appears to realise the implications well enough is the youth in urban areas - a very insignificant fraction of the nation's population.

Even the media is afraid to speak out against BJP because if they do then they get attacked by physical and virtual mobs.

It's a shame. So much potential.

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