PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY ARCHIVE · DECLASSIFIED
The Gagging Machine: Digital Security Act (DSA/CSA) and the Manufacture of State Silence
PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY ARCHIVE · DECLASSIFIED
Policy & Media Freedom
Unlike 1975 when independent newspapers were closed by presidential decree, BAKSAL 2.0 engineered a digital legislative trap: the Digital Security Act of 2018 (rebranded as the Cyber Security Act 2023).
1. Pretrial Punishment as Policy
By making offenses under sections 25, 29, and 31 non-bailable, the state turned the filing of a DSA case into instant, indefinite pretrial imprisonment:
- The Custodial Death of Mushtaq Ahmed: Dissident writer Mushtaq Ahmed died in Kashimpur Prison in February 2021 after being denied bail six times for social media satire criticizing pandemic corruption.
- Persecution of Cartoonists & Journalists: Over 1,200 journalists, bloggers, and students were arrested and tortured for questioning government narratives online.
Corporate Oligarchy of Broadcast Media
Television broadcast licenses were exclusively granted to ruling-party MPs and oligarch financiers, ensuring that televised broadcasts blacked out opposition protests and white-washed state repression.
Public Evidence Archive
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