Digital Rights Weekly/Year 1/Issue 23

Nov 23, 2022

ELECTION AND DIGITAL RIGHTS ISSUES

ECN made Identifiable Personal Details of Voters Public
The Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) has published the personal (confidential and sensitive) details of voters such as voter number, voter’s name, age, gender, marital status, parent’s name and address on its website in a manner that anyone can view for the upcoming federal and provincial election endangering citizens privacy.
In many countries, it is customary to make the voter list public in democratic elections and make it available to the public to check whether their names are missing from the list, and to verify whether fake voters are included, or not. This increases public confidence in the fairness of elections and ensures that the process is transparent.
Although the intention of publishing the electoral roll on the website of the Election Commission is positive from the point of view of ensuring fair and transparent elections and for the convenience of the citizens but there is also a danger of the misusing these data by third party.
There are contradictory legal provisions in this regard. On the one hand, the personal privacy laws of Nepal prohibit the publication of personal information, on the other hand, the election laws provide for the public publication of the details of the voters.
DRN suggests amending the inconsistencies and contradictions between the laws related to privacy and the laws related to elections in Nepal and passing laws that ensures the right to privacy of citizens without affecting the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
For more: Techpana

SC Issued Interim Order Against ECN on No, Not Again Issue
The Supreme Court (SC) on Sunday issued an interim order against the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) to not take forward its action against the persons involved in ‘No Not Again’ campaign.
A single bench of the SC Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal also issued a show cause notice against the EC’s decision to prohibit the campaign. The apex court also asked both the petitioner and defendants for discussion.
Two weeks ago, the ECN asked the concerned members of the campaign, which is directed against a section of top political leaders in social media platforms, to stop defaming the candidates of the November 20 elections through such activities.
For more: Technology Khabar, Nagarik Daily

Election Commission Dragged into Controversy over Setopati News Issue
Issuing a statement on 6 November, The Election Commission has retracted the letter it wrote to Setopati, an online news portal, instructing to remove a news report published on Friday within 24 hours.
On 4 November, Setopati published news titled “Agni Kharel’s son Nishan in US Army, also continues to hold Nepali citizenship” which states the former Law Minister Kharel’s son who serves in the American army still holds Nepali Citizenship and his name is also included in voter rolls in Kathmandu. Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) issued a notice for the removal of the news report within 24 hours and sought an explanation. This ECN move was strongly criticized by the civil society and other quarters of society. Stakeholders considered it attack on the press freedom of and freedom of expression; and that the ECN overstepped its jurisdiction. Sensing the strong reaction against its decision, the ECN retracted the letter issued to Setopati.
For more: Setopati, Kathmandu Post , Setopati

Meta Restricted the Facebook Group MRR Again
Meta has again deactivated the Facebook group MRR (Men’s Room Reloaded), a popular Facebook group among Nepali netizens where youth-centric topics are discussed, citing community guideline violations by the group. Previously the group account was reinstalled on 8 November but, on 9 November the group has been deactivated again. Many are speculating that the group is deactivated for their election related posts.
For more: Techpana

ICT ISSUES OF THE WEEK

UN Request Twitter to Ensure Freedom of Expression
On 5 November UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk issued an open letter to Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer at Twitter, urging him to “ensure human rights are central to the management of Twitter” under Musk’s leadership. The letter states “Twitter is part of a global revolution that has transformed how we communicate. But I write with concern and apprehension about our digital public square and Twitter’s role in it”. “In short, I urge you to ensure human rights are central to the management of Twitter under your leadership,” the High Commissioner said.
For more: OHCHR

Cyber Bureau Urged Public not to Receive Call from Unknown in Social Media
Following the recent rise in fraud incidents involving social media platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, the Cyber Bureau at the Police Headquarters has encouraged the general people to exercise caution. Incidents of strangers making calls on WhatsApp and Emo to display profanity and record conversations for extortion has become more common. Similar to this, there are more instances of scammers using social media under the guise of companionship.
For more: Techpana

Information Super Highway Project Progresses at a Snail Pace
The Information Super Highway Project has 1,646 kilometers of optical fiber installed, according to the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA). The project was started by NTA in FY 2073/74 with the intention of expanding the broadband network, but only 25.63% of the work had been finished as of the end of the first quarter of FY 2079/80.
For more: Technology Khabar

Schools in Kathmandu to Implement Google for Education
Google for Education will be used in the schools in the Kathmandu metropolitan area to improve students’ digital literacy.
The Kathmandu Metropolitan city and Digital & Beyond, the Google for Education official partner organization for the Asia Pacific region, which also includes Nepal, have signed an agreement for the initiative. In accordance with the agreement, Digital and Beyond will provide teachers and students with Google for Education training. The metro will shortly provide assistance to the schools so they can obtain the.edu.np domain. Similarly, Digital End Beyond will give instructions on how to use the domain and begin navigating it.
For more: Techmandu

Supreme Court Halts World Cup Extra Fees Payment
The Supreme Court’s interim ruling has prohibited charging World Cup viewers Rs. 500 extra. After receiving a writ petition, the court’s judicial bench headed by Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut issued the temporary ruling on November 8. According to the writ petitioners, no law in Nepal permits any companies to impose additional fees to spectators. Hearing on the case is scheduled on November 15.
For more: Techpana

Announcement !!!

ASIA-PACIFIC DIGITAL RIGHTS FORUM
The Asia-Pacific Digital Rights Forum, a three-day regional event hosted by EngageMedia will provide changemakers with online and physical spaces to continue their discussions and work together on solutions to the most urgent digital rights problems facing the region today. The Asia-Pacific Digital Rights Festival will take place in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in May 2023, and will be preceded by a three-day regional symposium on January 12–14, 2023. The Festival will be significantly shaped by the regional forum’s digital rights themes, partnerships, and collaborations.
For more: Engagemedia

Digital Rights Weekly is a week-based update on Digital Rights and ICT issues, that happened throughout the week, compiled and analyzed from the digital rights perspective by Digital Rights Nepal (DRN). DRN is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to the protection and promotion of digital rights, including the right to online freedom of expression and association, online privacy, access to information, and related issues such as internet governance, cyber laws/policies, and cyber securities in Nepal.

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