Freedom House company that moderates politicians’ speech, or pushes back against arbitrary orders to remove content or hand over data. This year, officials in India pressured Twitter to remove protest-related and critical commentary and to stop flagging manipulated content shared by the ruling party. Nigerian authorities blocked Twitter after the company removed incendiary posts by the country’s president. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who himself has overseen the mass incarceration of journalists and opposition politicians, repeatedly accused tech companies of “digital fascism” for their refusal to comply with flawed provisions in the country’s new social media law. As an alternative to US firms, Erdoğan has promoted a state-owned messaging platform, while both Indian and Nigerian officials have migrated to Koo, a Bangalore-based app. A vibrant democracy requires laws and institutions that guard against the accumulation of power in the hands of a few, whether in government or the private sector. The current drive for greater regulation raises the risk that instead of curbing and decentralizing the power of tech companies, governments will attempt to wield it for their own purposes and further infringe on users’ rights. The most promising legislation seeks to address online ills while bringing both corporate and state practices into compliance with international human rights principles such as necessity, transparency, oversight, and due process. But the danger posed by the worst initiatives is immense: if placed in the hands of the state, the ability to censor, surveil, and manipulate people en masse can facilitate large-scale political corruption, subversion of the democratic process, and repression of political opponents and marginalized populations. New laws put free expression online at risk Authorities in at least 24 countries passed or announced new laws or rules governing how platforms treat content. They variously include requirements to take down illegal content, penalties for certain forms of removals, the appointment of legal representatives to manage state requests, and stronger transparency and due process provisions. The most problematic measures may result in increased censorship of political dissent, investigative reporting, and expressions of ethnic, religious, sexual, or gender identity, particularly among marginalized communities. @freedomhouse The drive for greater regulation raises the risk that instead of decentralizing the power of tech companies, governments will attempt to wield it. Problematic obligations to remove content India’s new social media regulations represent one of the most comprehensive initiatives during this report’s coverage period. The updated Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules include new obligations for social media intermediaries, an expanded grievance mechanism through which users can complain directly to companies, and a reduced window for responding to law enforcement requests. Significant social media intermediaries—defined as companies with at least five million users—are required to deploy AI-based moderation tools, open in-country offices, and appoint three new local officers. A chief compliance officer, for example, must comply with takedown orders from a court, government agency, or any other competent authority within 36 hours, and can be held personally liable and face prison terms of up to seven years for failure to do so. The Indian rules provide some improvements to platforms’ content moderation by requiring that significant social media intermediaries notify users when their content is removed, communicate a clear justification for the decision, and provide an avenue for appeal. However, the expanded obligations imposed on social media platforms, coupled with the in-country representative requirements and the risk of criminal liability, will curb companies’ willingness to push back against state censorship requests that do not meet international human rights standards. Indian law bans a broad array of vaguely defined content, including speech that undermines public order, decency, morality, or the country’s sovereignty, integrity, and security. The user reporting mechanisms could also be abused by the government’s partisan supporters to remove critical commentary. The rules were announced amid worsening relations between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Silicon Valley. During large protests against proposed agricultural reforms in February 2021, Twitter reversed its initial decision to fully freedomhouse.org 13