In Focus by The Hindu

X (formerly known as Twitter) has gone offline in Brazil. The country’s Supreme Court issued an order to block X in Brazil after Elon Musk refused to appoint a legal representative for the company in the country. This defiance came on the heels of repeated flouting of the court’s orders to block certain far-right accounts that were allegedly spreading disinformation.

X has more than 22 million users in Brazil, who suddenly find themselves cut off from their accounts. The judge who ordered the ban, Alexandre de Moraes, has also said in his order that those who use VPN to access X will face a fine of 50,000 reais, or $8,850 per day. Musk, meanwhile, has gone all out vilifying Judge Moraes, calling him an “evil dictator” ‘Darth Vader’ and Voldemort’.

The ban on X has raised several questions about the global governance of social media. For instance, does this ban amount to some form of censorship, as Musk is claiming? Is it okay for an American tech platform owner to publicly back a particular political faction in another country, as Musk has been doing? Can an MNC expect to operate in a given country without complying with local laws? What lessons does the Brazilian court’s action hold for other nations in the Global South, such as India?

Guest: Jyoti Panday, who is with the Internet Governance Project at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.

Exploitative work conditions faced by Indians in the Middle East is not new, but the recent reports emerging from Saudi Arabia’s ambitious $500 billion Neom project are shocking: a recent documentary alleges that 21,000 foreign workers have died and 1,00,000 have gone missing since 2017, while working on projects that are part of the country’s Vision 2030 initiative.

Earlier this week Nadhmi al-Nasr, the long-time chief executive of the Neom project departed, and while there was no reason stated, reports indicate Mr. al-Nasr had earned a chilling reputation managing workers of the project.

But despite sometimes horrific work conditions, multiple deaths and the continuing use of the kafala system, around nine million Indians continue to compete for jobs in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

India has one of the highest remittances from its citizens working abroad, in the world, with the figure estimated at $111 billion as of 2022. And yet, policies and laws to protect migrant workers are scarce.

Why do young Indians continue to go abroad for semi-skilled or unskilled work – are these last-resort options or are they still seen as lucrative employment offers? Why do there continue to remain minimal protections for those who go to these countries? Has the pattern of migration from India changed? And Does the Indian Emigration Act need an overhaul?

Guest: Saurabh Bhattacharjee – associate professor, National Law School, Bengaluru and co-director, Centre for Labour Studies

Host: Zubeda Hamid

The National People’s Power (NPP), the ruling alliance led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has secured a historic mandate in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections. By winning 159 seats in the 225-member Parliament, it has secured two-thirds majority, a feat never achieved before in Sri Lanka’s proportionate representation system.

This victory, coming two months after his election as President, leaves Dissanayake supremely well-placed to fulfil the expectations of a people exhausted by economic travails. But then, he will also be under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stick with the program of permanent austerity. Can he navigate these contradictory pulls on his government? If so, how? And will he use his two-thirds majority to establish a new political culture, say, by abolishing the executive presidency?

Guest: Dr Ahilan Kadirgamar from the University of Jaffna.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.

Edited by Sharmada venkatasubramanian.

In this episode, we dive into the Uttar Pradesh government's new social media policy, which encourages influencers to promote the state's initiatives and achievements with incentives. However, this move has sparked controversy, with opposition parties criticizing it as an attempt to sway public opinion ahead of the upcoming elections.

How does UP’s policy compare to other states? What are the rules for government advertising, and how does this new policy affect influencers and current practices?

Guest: Apar Gupta, a lawyer, tech policy expert, and co-founder of the Internet Freedom Foundation

Host: John Xavier, Technology Editor, The Hindu

Edited by Jude Francis Weston

Donald Trump is going to Make America Great Again again. He is all set to take oath in January 2025 as the 47th President of the United States. The media and opinion polls had predicted an exceptionally close presidential race. But Trump won by some distance, winning 301 electoral votes to Kamala Harris’s 226.

The Republicans now control the Senate, the House of Representatives and the White House. Trump has achieved this on the back of the most divisive, abusive, racist, and gynist campaign in American history, replete with profanities.

What does this electoral outcome mean for America? Where did the Democrats go wrong? And what do Trump’s staff picks reveal about the kind of administration and foreign policy he is going to offer?

Guest: Sriram Lakshman, The Hindu’s foreign correspondent.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.