Impolite Conversations: Negotiations with security laws

On September 10, Newslaundry and the Internet Freedom Foundation hosted FoE Con 2022, a forum that brought together media personalities and leading voices in the legal sphere to map the media and regulatory framework in contemporary India.

The panel discussion titled “Negotiations with Security Laws” was moderated by Vakasha Sachdev, lawyer and editorial lead of Logically. He was joined by Hartosh Singh Bal, journalist and political editor of the Caravan, and Vrinda Grover, human rights lawyer and activist.

The panel discussed the sedition law and why it needs a moratorium, how the National Security Act is misused, and why India needs law to protect against communal and targeted violence.

“Doing the job of journalism is more difficult today than it has ever been at any point of time in our history,” Hartosh said. “The laws are secondary to the political atmosphere that exists.”

Watch.

Text by Nawaal Arshad.

Listen to the conversation here: