By Violina Barman
Internet governance as a concept came to the view of the wider public with proceedings of the World Summit on the Information Society in 2003 and 2005 under the aegis of the United Nations (WSIS). There were a series of developments after that, the more major ones being Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) in 2005 and Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in 2006. The purpose of the Internet Governance Forum is to provide a platform for multi-stakeholder debate and discussion on a wide range of themes. From the early days when internet governance was limited to discussions around critical systems required for the internet’s functioning, the global fora on internet governance have increasingly attempted to address many issues which once would not have been possible.
However, the IGF has come under criticism for not leading to decisions and judgements at the end of the discussions.
Another criticism of IGF has been that it lacks meaningful participation from its many stakeholders. As such, regional and national fora for discussion on policy issues related to the internet can help streamline an agenda towards action on context-specific issues. In 2021, Indian government launched the nation-specific chapter of IGF, the India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF) to attend to the nation’s E-Governance and National Security issues, among other aspects.
As a field of study, internet governance borrows significantly from the field of international relations and politics. Early studies have also focused exclusively on perspectives from science and technology studies. As the world moves towards AI, ML; as also the recognition of the need to provide access to ICT for meaningful usage, there is a need to study internet governance from a sociological perspective. And as internet is a global phenomena with local presence and experiences, the India’s North East India Region is not isolated from its impact, experiences, challenges and mitigations.
Infrastructure and the Internet
The North East Indian states constitute 7.9% of India’s geographical area; and as per the last census of 2011, are 3.8% of the population. The formation of East Bengal and Burma at the time of independence from the United Kingdom is recognised as a rather tangible break in the once better networked economic geography of the region leaving aside the 27-km-wide Siliguri Corridor as the only link to the rest of India. The region was left largely isolated from the development paradigm until the 1990s when economic reforms were introduced (Ziipao, 2020, p 14). Raile Rocky Ziipaoforegrounds the fact that all benefits of development have been concentrated in the urban centres of North East India while the externalities of development had been disproportionately faced by the tribal territories. Depending on calculations of national security, viability as a resource frontier, challenges posed by the geographical terrain, or due to the fate of centrality of location vast sections of the North Eastern region still remain outside of infrastructure and connectivity considerations and by extension lagging in several development indicators. (Ziipao, 2020, p 17)
Connectivity & Meaningful Access Last Mile is an Internet Conundrum
Depending on one’s location, socioeconomic and geographical, the role of the internet in everyday life is becoming increasingly less optional to the point that certain nations have entered the ‘era of compulsory computing’ with the United Kingdom putting in place a list of essential skills an adult need in a digital world. (Allmann & Blank, 2021) Closer home, the D i gi t alI n d i a programme is inching towards the inadvertent effect of making reliance on digital technologies compulsory. Banking, education and job applications, access to government services and schemes are only some of the tasks where online mode of access has come to be made preferrable, where not made wholly inaccessible offline. As such, internet connectivity is emerging as a new infrastructure which is constantly evolving in its nature and scope.
In terms of internet access in the North Eastern Region, internet penetration and tele density of the region has been low with Assam (28.2%), Meghalaya (34.7%), Tripura (22.9%) being among states and union territories with less than 40% women using the internet, per NFHS 5 (2019-20). This has been sought to remedy by interventions like the ‘Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan’ for the North-Eastern Region. (No takers for NE Telecom Development plan, 2016) However, the mere presence of the internet does not guarantee the visibility of people to the data processes or their ability to access and configure data to create instead of being relegated to being passive consumers and subjects of data processes (Ada Lovelace Institute, 2021).
There is a need to move away from thinking about the relationship of marginalised communities with the internet only in terms of the digital divide, and access to the internet and ICT. The new pressures of meaningfully using and navigating the digital space need to be accommodated by emphasising on the need to acquire capabilities to distinguish the usefulness and source of an information, and to contribute information. Discrepancies in capabilities of the user and configuration of the digital media can keep one from being able to fully utilise the internet to better their list of choices and alternatives to lead their lives (Mansell, 2002). The use of complicatedelectronic contracts, language barrier are some examples of such a discrepancy. When such a discrepancy arises, often the tendency is to render the people who are not easily accommodated in the set of parameters, fields, or with possession of documents in the right configuration mandatory for availing government services to be left disenfranchised from the new systems of welfare. There is much scope to deliberate upon ways to make the internet and digitally mediated spaces more inclusive in the region.
Issues around Internet Mediated Spaces in Northeast India
ICT -enabled scams and online fraud
With the increase in internet and ICT usage in the country, crimes have moved to yet another domain of cyber crimes. A survey by TrustCheckr, a data analytics startup found that at 41%, highest UPI scams are experienced in eastern states with every North Eastern state of India on the list. (41% Digital Frauds accounted in Eastern Region of India, 2021). The categories of online fraud were found to be KYC, fake cash-back, frauds through digital wallets, fake-selling, QR codes, UPI phishing, lottery scams, and financial frauds on social media. Cyber-enabled scams and fraud are evolving at a rate where even otherwise technologically equipped and skilled individuals have found it difficult to evade.
In September 2022, based on information received from Crime Against Children (CAC) unit of INTERPOL, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted raids in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura in connection with cases of downloading and transmission of CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material). (Assam and Arunachal Pradesh under CBI’s Megh Chakra operation, 2022) The North East India states differ greatly in terms of cybercrimes reported from the region with Assam accounting for close to 5,000 cases of all cybercrimes and followed by Meghalaya at 107 cases as reported in the last NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) records (Crime in India 2021 NCRB, 2022).
In terms of internet access in the North Eastern Region, internet penetration and tele density of the region has been low with Assam (28.2%), Meghalaya (34.7%), Tripura (22.9%) being among states and union territories with less than 40% women using the internet, per NFHS 5 (2019-20). This has been sought to remedy by interventions like the ‘Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan’ for the North-Eastern Region. (No takers for NE Telecom Development plan, 2016) However, the mere presence of the internet does not guarantee the visibility of people to the data processes or their ability to access and configure data to create instead of being relegated to being passive consumers and subjects of data processes (Ada Lovelace Institute, 2021).
There is a need to move away from thinking about the relationship of marginalised communities with the internet only in terms of the digital divide, and access to the internet and ICT. The new pressures of meaningfully using and navigating the digital space need to be accommodated by emphasising on the need to acquire capabilities to distinguish the usefulness and source of an information, and to contribute information. Discrepancies in capabilities of the user and configuration of the digital media can keep one from being able to fully utilise the internet to better their list of choices and alternatives to lead their lives (Mansell, 2002). The use of complicatedelectronic contracts, language barrier are some examples of such a discrepancy. When such a discrepancy arises, often the tendency is to render the people who are not easily accommodated in the set of parameters, fields, or with possession of documents in the right configuration mandatory for availing government services to be left disenfranchised from the new systems of welfare. There is much scope to deliberate upon ways to make the internet and digitally mediated spaces more inclusive in the region.
