Hotstar censorship and transport data privacy

27 February, 20209 min
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Hotstar censorship and  transport data privacy

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Editor's note: It has been a troubling few days in India’s national capital, Delhi. Riots broke out in several parts of northeastern Delhi, which have so far claimed the lives of 25 people and counting. The violence leaves in its wake apathy, chaos and a country divided on a controversial citizenship act. It has also brought up two important subjects that merit our attention. A. Censorship. B. Data privacy and protection. Hotstar’s censorship of John Oliver On Tuesday, Hotstar, which owns the rights to stream HBO content in India, did not upload the latest episode of the latter’s news satire show “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”.  The episode delved into US President Donald Trump’s India visit and the recent protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. In the episode, Oliver criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him “a symbol of hate”. Typically, Hotstar uploads the new episodes of the show every Tuesday at 6.00 am. In its absence, Hotstar’s subscribers weren’t thrilled and the company has been at the receiving end of a fair amount of criticism.  Self-censorship is generally …

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