The Group of Seven plus the invited nations signed an ‘Open Societies Statement’ at the end of the summit. It reaffirms their belief in, among other values, “freedom of expression, both online and offline”. India, one of the signatories, however, has held a rather calibrated view on this matter. It prioritizes ‘national security’ over freedom of speech – rather too frequently in the eyes of its critics, as it is number one by a wide margin in blocking the internet for allegedly political motives.

2021 Open Societies Statement:
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/50364/g7-2021-open-societies-statement-pdf-355kb-2-pages.pdf

The statement is obviously an attempt to underline democratic values of the seven largest democratic economies (the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan) that make up the G7 along with the invitees (Australia, India, South Korea, South Africa and the EU). British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called them ‘Democracies 11’. The reference to a cricket team hints at the other team – China, the unstated theme of the summit. Thus, the statement underlines human rights, social inclusion, rule of law and other democratic norms as “founding values” that “define our way of life”. Whether they do so or not is open to debate but as an indictment of China, the statement is an exhaustive listing of everything the liberal worldview finds wrong with Beijing.

India, the largest democracy, has endorsed the statement, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said “democracy and freedom were a part of India’s civilisational ethos”. Yet, his government leads the tally of internet shutdowns [https://internetshutdowns.in/] – 520 shutdowns ordered since 2014 is a record. It has been pressuring Facebook and Twitter to remove posts that are purely political in nature, not involving any threat to national security.

Consider:

https://www.accessnow.org/indian-government-digital-censorship-intimidation/

https://www.vox.com/recode/22410931/india-pandemic-facebook-twitter-free-speech-modi-covid-19-censorship-free-speech-takedown

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/21/asia/internet-shutdowns-china-india-censorship-intl-hnk/index.html

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/twitter-and-indian-government-in-showdown-over-farmers-protests

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56883483

Ironically, the G7 statement does refer to “politically motivated internet shutdowns”. They may have China in mind, but Beijing once justified its move by pointing to India [https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/chinese-news-website-cites-india-to-justify-internet-shutdown-2150877].

Reports suggest India had reservations on the statement. At the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting in May, India’s S Jaishankar had suggested nuance, when he said “open societies and personal freedoms require careful nurturing.” [https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-signs-joint-statement-at-g-7-for-freedom-of-expression-internet-curbs-threat-to-democracy-7357610/]