New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government’s expanding censorship regime is creating an uneven playing field by silencing criticism of and independent reporting on the ruling party, a new report by Freedom House, a Washington DC-based non-profit, has said.The report, titled ‘Freedom on the Net 2023: The Repressive Power of Artificial Intelligence’, has raised concerns over the increasing use of artificial intelligence by governments for censorship and spread of disinformation.The report covers developments between June 2022 and May 2023. It evaluates internet freedom in 70 countries, accounting for 88% of the world’s Internet users. This is the 13th edition of its annual study of human rights online.It says, “Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party have incorporated censorship, including the use of automated systems, into the country’s legal framework. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules require large social media platforms to use AI-based moderation tools for broadly defined types of content – such as speech that could undermine public order, decency, morality, or the country’s sovereignty, integrity, and security, or content that officials had previously ordered removed.”It cites the ban on the BBC documentary about communal violence during Modi’s tenure as chief minister in Gujarat. In February this year, the information and broadcasting ministry used its emergency powers under Rule 16(3) of the IT Rules, 2021, and directed YouTube and Twitter to take down tweets that linked to the controversial BBC documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’.“Because the government ordered the restriction of the documentary, the IT Rules require the two platforms to use automated scanning tools to sweep up any additional posts that share the film. As the country prepares for general elections in 2024, the government’s expanding censorship regime is creating an uneven playing field by silencing criticism of and independent reporting on the ruling party.”The report noted that in more authoritarian contexts, automated censorship systems could close what little space remains for online expression. It further said that automated content moderation systems have a positive role in handling large-scale content moderation tasks, such as reviewing harmful content like child sexual abuse imagery and graphic violence, which can be distressing for human moderators.However, even when these systems are used appropriately, they can excessively or inconsistently flag online material, especially in languages other than English or slang, potentially leading to the removal of political, social, and religious speech.To mitigate this risk and ensure that these systems uphold information integrity, it is important for online content and AI regulations to be based on human rights principles. This should involve requirements for audits, increased transparency regarding algorithm use and impact, as well as mechanisms for notice, explanation, redress, and appeal.The Freedom House report evaluates countries on five censorship methods – Internet connectivity restrictions, blocks on social media platforms, blocks on websites, blocks on VPNs, and forced removal of content. India engaged in all of them except one (VPN blocking), according to the Hindu.India also figured among the list of countries that “blocked websites hosting political, social, or religious content”, deliberately disrupted ICT networks, used pro-government commentators to manipulate online discussions, and conducted “technical attacks against government critics or human rights organisations”.On a range of 1 to 100 where ‘100’ represented highest digital freedom and ‘1’ the worst repression, India scored 50, while Iceland, with 94, emerged as the country with the best climate of Internet freedom.