MediaNama invites you to our online briefing call on “Tech and the Cockroach Janata Party Protests” on July 28, 2026.
Title: Tech and the Cockroach Janata Party Protests
Date: July 28 (Tuesday), 2026
Time: 4 PM IST
As the Cockroach Janata Party protests gain more momentum, the Indian government has been cracking down on digital communications in the country. The measures from the government range from localized internet shutdowns at the Jantar Mantar protest site, censorship of social media posts, orders to disable mesh messaging apps such as Bitchat used for coordination during protests and deployment of facial recognition technology by the Delhi police to identify protestors.
While the Internet shutdowns are currently being challenged in court, each of the measures which are being deployed by the Indian government need to be examined. The censorship of social media posts and blocking of platforms have dramatically increased in recent months with the introduction of the Sahyog Portal, a centralized dashboard which allows Central ministries, departments and state governments to send notices to platforms and intermediaries.
The deployment of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) at protests is not new. In addition to New Delhi, several police departments of states such as Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, Mumbai, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh among many other states have deployed FRT. These deployments raise questions on privacy, state surveillance and accountability. Deployment of FRT is often opaque with tenders for these systems not made available for scrutiny.
To discuss these developments and their implications for platforms, free speech, and platform liability, MediaNama invites you to attend a virtual briefing on “Tech and the Cockroach Janata Party Protests.”
In this briefing call we will examine:
- How social media posts are being censored.
- The impact of internet shutdowns.
- The validity of the blocking orders for mesh messaging applications and if open source platforms such as GitHub can be compelled to remove code pertaining to the BitChat.
- The implications of FRT being deployed at protests and what impact it may have on citizens.
The session will begin at 4 PM IST with a presentation, followed by a Q&A session where attendees can ask questions and discuss the key issues.
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Please register to participate in the event by filling out the form here.
Note:
- Registration does not guarantee attendance. In case you fit our mandate for the intended audience, we’ll send you a confirmation before the event.
- Your contact information will never be shared with anyone outside of MediaNama.
