The Centre for Internet and Society
https://cis-india.org
These are the search results for the query, showing results 131 to 145.
Pitroda seeks to put govt information in public domain
https://cis-india.org/news/www-livemint-september-25-2012-surabhi-agarwal-pitroda-seeks-to-put-govt-information-in-public-domain
<b>In the first-ever Indian government press conference on Twitter, Sam Pitroda, adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on public information infrastructure and innovations, championed the cause of putting government information in the public domain to usher in openness and empowerment. </b>
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<p>Surabhi Agarwal's article was <a class="external-link" href="http://origin-www.livemint.com/Politics/5xXKN9JH15noiYuQtVQtrL/Governments-first-ever-conference-on-Twitter-to-begin-short.html">published in LiveMint</a> on September 25, 2012. Sunil Abraham is quoted.</p>
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<p><img alt=" " src="http://origin-www.livemint.com/rw/LiveMint/Period1/2012/09/26/Photos/sam%20pitroda1--621x414.jpg" title=" " /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“In India, we have the Right to Information (Act) but the information is locked up in files,” he said in a video that was uploaded on YouTube before the conference started. Pitroda said the government has various plans to build robust information infrastructure on a scale that has never been done before.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“I firmly believe that information is the fourth pillar of democracy along with (the) legislature, executive and judiciary,” he tweeted as opening remarks during the press conference titled “Democratization of information”.</p>
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<p>Even though Pitroda largely reiterated the government’s already announced plans in the space of digitization, the move to hold a press conference over Twitter has been largely construed as as a sign that the administration, criticised for attempting to rein in social media, is trying to come to terms with it.</p>
<p>Sunil Abraham, executive director of Bangalore-based research organization Centre for Internet and Society, said too much shouldn’t be read into Pitroda holding a press conference on Twitter. One government bureaucrat available on Twitter for a fixed period doesn’t make up for the non-existence of the government on social media, he said. “They (government) should be available all the time.”</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">The department of electronics and information technology recently issued guidelines for government agencies on improved engagement with citizens through social media. Tuesday’s press conference may spark a trend of more such engagements on social media platforms by government agencies.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Pitroda said that the public information infrastructure (PII) will include a national knowledge network that will connect 1,500 nodes for universities, colleges, research labs and libraries along with connecting 250,000 panchayats in the country through fibre optics. The information network will be operational in the next two year, Pitroda said in the YouTube video.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The government’s open data platform (<i>http://www.data.gov.in</i>), the beta site for which was launched some time ago, will provide access to government data and documents, he said.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Even though the government’s battles with the Internet continue over issues of regulation, which have often been construed as censorship, an increasing number of political leaders and agencies have been using the route to get their message across.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Gujarat chief minister <a href="http://origin-www.livemint.com/Search/Link/Keyword/Narendra%20Modi">Narendra Modi</a> has sought to engage with people through video chat on <a href="http://origin-www.livemint.com/Search/Link/Keyword/Google+">Google+</a> Hangout. West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief <a href="http://origin-www.livemint.com/Search/Link/Keyword/Mamata%20Banerjee">Mamata Banerjee</a> has been using <a href="http://origin-www.livemint.com/Search/Link/Keyword/Facebook">Facebook</a> to make public her views on recent economic and political developments.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has also been communicating over Twitter in the recent past. The authorities have sought to block accounts that style themselves as belonging to the Prime Minister. Account holders have said that some of these are satirical in nature.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/news/www-livemint-september-25-2012-surabhi-agarwal-pitroda-seeks-to-put-govt-information-in-public-domain'>https://cis-india.org/news/www-livemint-september-25-2012-surabhi-agarwal-pitroda-seeks-to-put-govt-information-in-public-domain</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFreedom of Speech and ExpressionPublic AccountabilityInternet GovernanceSocial media2012-09-27T05:13:05ZNews ItemPerumal Murugan and the Law on Obscenity
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/perumal-murugan-and-the-law-on-obscenity
<b></b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">On July 5, 2016, the Madras High Court saved Perumal Murugan’s novel, <i>Mathorubhagan</i> from oblivion when it dismissed the claims against Murugan on the grounds of obscenity, spreading disharmony between communities, blasphemy, and defamation and upheld his freedom of expression in <i>S. Tamilselvan & Perumal Murugan versus Government of Tamil Nadu</i>. This judgment has received wide appreciation for its support for freedom of expression. What made it applause-worthy? Do we have reservations with the view of the High Court?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>Murugan’s book is about a married couple, Kali and Ponna, who fail to have a child despite decades of their marriage. They succumb to social and familial pressures to allow Ponna (the wife) to participate in a sexual orgy (unrestrained sexual encounter involving many people) at a religious festival (the Vaikasi Car Festival) that takes place in Arthanareeswarar Temple, for begetting a child. The local community claimed that in the book, Murugan denigrated the Arthanareeswarar Temple, the deity, Lord Arthanareeswarar, festivities relating to Vaikasi Car Festival and the women of the Kongu Vellala Gounder community. Some sections of the community believed that the facts in the story were not true and found that the sexual mores associated with the community in the book were offensive.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>The Court was required to evaluate, whether the novel was obscene (</span><i>Section 292 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC)</i><span>), offensive to the community (</span><i>Section 153A of IPC</i><span>) and the religion (</span><i>Section 295 of IPC</i><span>); and whether the State had the responsibility to protect the writer from mob violence on account of his controversial book. The Court held that the book was neither offensive nor did it hurt community or religious sentiments. The Court also held that the State had a positive obligation to protect Murugan against the mob. It would be useful to look at the analysis of the Court in drawing these conclusions and see if we completely agree with it.</span></p>
<ol style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The Court relied on the standard for determining obscenity in <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/195958005/"><i>Aveek Sarkar v. State of West Bengal</i></a> wherein, it was held that what is lascivious/appealing to the prurient interest/depraved or corrupt has to be tested using the contemporary ‘community standards. The Court was of the view that the novel was not offensive by the current mores (<i>para 150 and 151</i>). <span>The Court further relied on </span><a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1191397/"><i>MF Hussain v. Rajkumar Pandey</i></a><span>, (</span><i>also decided by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul</i><span>) wherein it was held, that while evaluating obscenity in a work, “</span><i>the judge has to place himself in the position of the author in order to appreciate what the author really wishes to convey and thereafter, placing himself in the position of the reader in every age group in whose hand the book is likely to fall, arrive at a dispassionate conclusion</i><span>.”It is necessary to mention here that the community standards test has been criticised by scholars, worldwide, as it is difficult to divorce subjective morality of an individual and ascertain what those standards are. This indeterminacy interferes with the ability of judges to apply these standards. There is established scholarship that says that judges cannot divorce themselves from their subjectivities while evaluating obscenity in work of art or literature and may often reinforce the moral norms of the majority in the society thus crushing the moral standards of the minority. In India, we have a mixed bag of judgments that address the issue of obscenity. Seeing the difficulty in application of the community standards test, it is noteworthy that the ultimate fate of a book, painting or a film is dependent on the morality of an individual judge. In fact, the Court had asked a pertinent question in the judgment, “</span><i>Would it be desirable for the Courts to intervene or should it be left to the readers to learn for themselves what they think and feel of the issue in question?</i><span>” (</span><i>para 136</i><span>) However, it eventually reinforced these standards by applying the existing precedents on obscenity. </span><span>The Court added thatunder Section 292, it was required to first prove whether the novel was obscene at all and only if it was found to be obscene it should be tested within the parameters of exceptionsit would fall under. The Court found that the novel was not obscene. There was no need to evaluate its social character to save it from a ban. While drawing this conclusion, the Court stated that, “</span><i>sex, per se, was not treated as undesirable, but was an integral part right from the existence of civilization</i><span>” (</span><i>para 149</i><span>) and that “</span><i>in our society, we seem to be more bogged down by conservative Victorian philosophy rather than draw inspiration from our own literature and scriptures.</i><span>”The Court also said, “</span><i>there are different kinds of books available on the shelves of book stores to be read by different age groups from different strata. If you do not like a book, simply close it.</i><span>”</span><i>(para 148</i><span>) While this reflects a progressive view of the judges on sexual morality, we have reservations on court’s reliance on ancient literature to justify why sex and its depiction in art or literature is not obscene.</span></li>
<li><span>We appreciate the observations that the Court has made while determining whether the novel hurt community or religious sentiments. The Court has acknowledged the declining tolerance level of the society (</span><i>para 154</i><span>) and stated that “</span><i>any contra view or social thinking is met at times with threats or violent behaviour</i><span>” (</span><i>para 142</i><span>).</span></li>
<li>The Court addressed the issue of harassment of writers and artists at the hands of a mob and held that there should “<i>be a presumption in favour of free speech and expression as envisaged under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India</i>” and emphasized the need for the State to protect those who suffer from hostility of several sections of a society as a consequence of holding a different view (<i>para 175</i>).Citing <i>MF Hussain v. Rajkumar Pandey</i>, the Court said “<i>freedom of speech has no meaning if there is no freedom after speech.</i>”The Court has identified the problematic sphere of mob violence and how it affects freedom of expression. However, we do not agree with what the Court held subsequently. </li>
</ol>
<p style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: justify; "><span style="text-align: justify; ">Reproducing an extract of the judgment here, </span><span style="text-align: justify; ">“</span><i style="text-align: justify; ">There is bound to be a presumption in favour of free speech and expression as envisaged under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India unless a court of law finds it otherwise as falling within the domain of a reasonable restriction under Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India.” </i><span style="text-align: justify; ">(</span><i style="text-align: justify; ">para 184</i><span style="text-align: justify; ">) </span><span style="text-align: justify; ">The words, “</span><i style="text-align: justify; ">unless a court of law finds it otherwise as falling within the domain of a reasonable restriction under Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India.</i><span style="text-align: justify; ">” indicate that the judiciary has the power to determine whether a certain type of speech could be restricted under Article 19 (2) of the Constitution of India. This understanding is incorrect. </span><span style="text-align: justify; ">The language of Article 19 (2) makes it clear that speech could only be restricted by ‘law’ and judiciary cannot assume the authority to restrict speech. It has the authority to decide the applicability and the constitutionality of the law that restricts speech. The relevant part of Article 19 (2) is reproduced below for reference. </span><i style="text-align: justify; ">“</i><i style="text-align: justify; ">(2) Nothing in sub clause (a) of clause ( 1 ) shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right….</i><span style="text-align: justify; ">” </span><span style="text-align: justify; ">The Court further acknowledged that </span><i style="text-align: justify; ">“the State and the police authorities would not be the best ones to judge such literary and cultural issues, which are best left to the wisdom of the specialists in the field and thereafter, if need be, the Courts”</i><span style="text-align: justify; "> (</span><i style="text-align: justify; ">para 181</i><span style="text-align: justify; ">). The Court thus issued directions to the Government </span><i style="text-align: justify; ">to constitute an expert body to deal with situations arising from such conflicts of views so that an independent opinion is forthcoming, keeping in mind the law evolved by the judiciary</i><span style="text-align: justify; ">(</span><i style="text-align: justify; ">para 181</i><span style="text-align: justify; ">)</span><i style="text-align: justify; ">. </i><span style="text-align: justify; ">There are concerns with this mandate of the Court; firstly, constituting an expert body to resolve conflict of views will not serve any purpose unless there are guidelines to evaluate work. It is difficult to dissociate subjectivity and ascertain objective standards for evaluating offensiveness of literary or artistic work. Secondly, reliance on expert opinion and then courts completely disregards existing law. Under Section 95 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,1973, the Government has the power to declare forfeiture of works which, it considers in violation of section 153A or section 153B or section 292 or section 293 or section 295A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The power to evaluate a piece of writing or other work has already been given to the government. The Court has created a parallel mechanism for evaluation by giving directions to constitute an expert panel. In the event this mechanism fails to resolve the conflict, it is suggested that courts would then be approached to address the matter. This is in complete disregard of the powers of the Government under Section 95.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>In the Murugan judgment, the Court has attempted to provide a narrow interpretation of what is considered obscene, emphasized the need for the society to be more tolerant and for State to protect those members of the society who, on account of their views, suffer at the hands of an intolerant society. It is for these reasons, the judgment is, undoubtedly a sound precedent for protection of speech in India. However, it is concerning to see that in drawing these conclusions, the Court has reinforced vague legal standards of obscenity and in that regard, it remains yet another addition to the mixed bag of judgments.</span></p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/perumal-murugan-and-the-law-on-obscenity'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/perumal-murugan-and-the-law-on-obscenity</a>
</p>
No publisherJapreet GrewalFreedom of Speech and ExpressionHate SpeechArticle 19(1)(a)Internet Governance2016-08-09T13:01:03ZBlog EntryParliament panel blasts govt over ambiguous internet laws
https://cis-india.org/news/times-of-india-ishan-srivastava-march-28-2013-parliament-panel-blasts-govt-over-ambiguous-internet-laws
<b>The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Subordinate Legislation has come out with a report in which it has lambasted the government and asked it to make changes to IT rules that govern internet-related cases in India.</b>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">This article by Ishan Srivastava was <a class="external-link" href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/internet/Parliament-panel-blasts-govt-over-ambiguous-internet-laws/articleshow/19249667.cms">published in the Times of India</a> on March 28, 2013. Pranesh Prakash is quoted.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; "><span id="advenueINTEXT">It said in the report that multiple clauses in the laws had inherent ambiguity and that discrepancies exist in the government's stand on whether some rules are mandatory or only of advisory nature.</span><span id="advenueINTEXT"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span id="advenueINTEXT">The committee said that inherent ambiguity of words like 'blasphemy' and `disparaging', among others, could lead to harassment of people as has happened with Section 66A of the IT Act repeatedly in recent times. Incidents include the arrest of two girls over 'liking' a <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Facebook">Facebook</a> post and a defamation case against an individual for an 'offensive' tweet. It has also been used by multiple politicians to suppress voices of dissent by branding them as 'defamatory'.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span id="advenueINTEXT">These ambiguous terms are used in the Intermediary Guidelines rules, passed in April 2011, which the committtee said could lead to legitimate speech being removed. Also, the Standing Committee noted that many categories of speech prohibited by the Intermediary Guidelines rules were not prohibited by any statute, and hence could not be prohibited by the government through these rules. The Standing Committee has asked the government to ensure that "no new category of crimes or offences is created" by these rules.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span id="advenueINTEXT">The committee also said that discrepancies exist in the nature of implementation of these laws. While the government's stand is that Intermediary Guidelines are only "of advisory nature and self-regulation" and that "it is not mandatory for the Intermediary to disable the information", the wording of the laws suggest otherwise. In many of the laws, terms like "shall act" within 36 hours are used. The committee said that there was a "need for clarity on the aforesaid contradiction" and "safeguards to protect against any abuse" since it could lead to censorship.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span id="advenueINTEXT">"The government has told the Committee that the rules are for "self-regulation", but they in fact aren't. The rules dictate what content cannot be hosted. And our research found that intermediaries react to fake takedown requests too, just to avoid being liable for their users' content. This is not self-regulation, but government-mandated private censorship," said Pranesh Prakash, policy director at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS). CIS is a Bangalore-based non-profit body looking at issues of public accountability, privacy, free expression, and openness, and has consistently argued that many parts of the IT Act are unconstitutional. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span id="advenueINTEXT">The committee also suggested that all evidence relating to foreign websites refusing to honour Indian laws should be made public and a public debate should be encouraged as the internet is a global phenomena. Recently there have been instances of issues between the <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Indian-Government">Indian government</a> and tech giants like Facebook and <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Google">Google</a> related to censorship and taking down of 'offensive' and 'defamatory' content.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span id="advenueINTEXT">While the government's stand is that Intermediary Guidelines are only "of advisory nature and self-regulation" and that "it is not mandatory for the Intermediary to disable the information," the wording of the laws suggest otherwise.</span></p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/news/times-of-india-ishan-srivastava-march-28-2013-parliament-panel-blasts-govt-over-ambiguous-internet-laws'>https://cis-india.org/news/times-of-india-ishan-srivastava-march-28-2013-parliament-panel-blasts-govt-over-ambiguous-internet-laws</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFreedom of Speech and ExpressionIT ActInternet GovernanceCensorship2013-03-28T08:37:30ZNews ItemPanel discussion on 'How to Avoid Digital ID Systems That Put People at Risk: Lessons from Afghanistan' at Freedom Online Conference
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/panel-discussion-how-to-avoid-digital-id-systems-that-put-people-at-risk
<b>Amber Sinha participated as a panelist in a panel discussion on How to Avoid Digital ID Systems That Put People at Risk: Lessons from Afghanistan at the Freedom Online Conference yesterday.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) was established in 2011 in response to the growing recognition of the importance of the Internet for the enjoyment of human rights. Periodically, the FOC holds a multistakeholder Conference that aims to deepen the discussion on how online freedoms are helping to promote social, cultural and economic development. The ownership of the Conference program and outputs lies with the host country, most often the Chair of the Coalition during that year.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The aim of the panel was to use the lessons learned from the Afghanistan case to take a critical and realistic look at the implementation of digital identification programs around the world. A video of the panel can be <a class="external-link" href="https://www.freedomonlineconference.com/session/how-to-avoid-digital-id-systems-that-put-people-at-risk-lessons-from-afghanistan">accessed here</a>.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/panel-discussion-how-to-avoid-digital-id-systems-that-put-people-at-risk'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/panel-discussion-how-to-avoid-digital-id-systems-that-put-people-at-risk</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFreedom of Speech and ExpressionDigital IDInternet Governance2021-12-03T14:52:35ZNews ItemPanel Discussion – Intermediary Liability & Freedom of Expression in India
https://cis-india.org/news/panel-discussion-intermediary-liability-and-freedom-of-expression-in-india
<b>Bhairav Acharya will participate in a panel discussion on ‘Intermediary Liability & Freedom of Expression’ on Wednesday evening (26th March 2014) from 6:00 pm onwards at the India International Centre Annex. The event is organized by the Centre for Communication Governance at NLU Delhi in association with the Global Network Initiative, Washington D.C.
</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The panel comprises of three eminent personalities: Shyam Divan, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India; Siddharth Varadarajan, Journalist and Senior Fellow, Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory, New Delhi and; Jermyn Brooks,<b> </b>Independent Chair, Global Network Initiative, Washington D.C.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The objective of the panel was to focus on the Indian legal framework governing Internet platforms and explore questions related to Internet intermediaries and the balance that should be involved in regulations affecting user-generated content, in the context of the civil liberties that are key to democracy, in particular free expression and privacy. The discussion was aimed at drawing connections between this ostensibly Internet-related issue and the traditional media, to highlight recurring issues and useful perspectives.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">For more details, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.nludelhi.ac.in/?p=4873">click here</a>.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/news/panel-discussion-intermediary-liability-and-freedom-of-expression-in-india'>https://cis-india.org/news/panel-discussion-intermediary-liability-and-freedom-of-expression-in-india</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFreedom of Speech and ExpressionInternet Governance2014-04-04T10:10:32ZNews ItemOverview of the Constitutional Challenges to the IT Act
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/overview-constitutional-challenges-on-itact
<b>There are currently ten cases before the Supreme Court challenging various provisions of the Information Technology Act, the rules made under that, and other laws, that are being heard jointly. Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan who's arguing Anoop M.K. v. Union of India has put together this chart that helps you track what's being challenged in each case.</b>
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<br />
<br />
<table class="tg" style="undefined;table-layout: fixed; border=">
<tr>
<th class="tg-s6z2">PENDING MATTERS</th>
<th class="tg-s6z2">CASE NUMBER</th>
<th class="tg-0ord">PROVISIONS CHALLENGED</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-4eph">Shreya Singhal v. Union of India</td>
<td class="tg-spn1">W.P.(CRL.) NO. 167/2012</td>
<td class="tg-zapm">66A</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">Common Cause & Anr. v. Union of India</td>
<td class="tg-s6z2">W.P.(C) NO. 21/2013</td>
<td class="tg-0ord">66A, 69A & 80</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-4eph">Rajeev Chandrasekhar v. Union of India & Anr.</td>
<td class="tg-spn1">W.P.(C) NO. 23/2013</td>
<td class="tg-zapm">66A & Rules 3(2), 3(3), 3(4) & 3(7) of the Intermediaries Rules 2011</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">Dilip Kumar Tulsidas Shah v. Union of India & Anr.</td>
<td class="tg-s6z2">W.P.(C) NO. 97/2013</td>
<td class="tg-0ord">66A</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-4eph">Peoples Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India & Ors.</td>
<td class="tg-spn1">W.P.(CRL.) NO. 199/2013</td>
<td class="tg-zapm">66A, 69A, Intermediaries Rules 2011 (s.79(2) Rules) & Blocking of Access of Information by Public Rules 2009 (s.69A Rules)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">Mouthshut.Com (India) Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors.</td>
<td class="tg-s6z2">W.P.(C) NO. 217/2013</td>
<td class="tg-0ord">66A & Intermediaries Rules 2011</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-4eph">Taslima Nasrin v. State of U.P & Ors.</td>
<td class="tg-spn1">W.P.(CRL.) NO. 222/2013</td>
<td class="tg-zapm">66A</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">Manoj Oswal v. Union of India & Anr.</td>
<td class="tg-s6z2">W.P.(CRL.) NO. 225/2013</td>
<td class="tg-0ord">66A & 499/500 Indian Penal Code</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-4eph">Internet and Mobile Ass'n of India & Anr. v. Union of India & Anr.</td>
<td class="tg-spn1">W.P.(C) NO. 758/2014</td>
<td class="tg-zapm">79(3) & Intermediaries Rules 2011</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">Anoop M.K. v. Union of India & Ors.</td>
<td class="tg-s6z2">W.P.(CRL.) NO. 196/2014</td>
<td class="tg-0ord">66A, 69A, 80 & S.118(d) of the Kerala Police Act, 2011</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/overview-constitutional-challenges-on-itact'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/overview-constitutional-challenges-on-itact</a>
</p>
No publisherpraneshIT ActCourt CaseFreedom of Speech and ExpressionIntermediary LiabilityConstitutional LawCensorshipSection 66AArticle 19(1)(a)Blocking2014-12-19T09:01:50ZBlog EntryOther Than Women: Exploring Harassment and Difference Online
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/other-than-women-exploring-harassment-and-difference-online
<b>A satellite session at RightsCon in Brussels is being organized by the Tactical Technology Collective on March 28, 2017. Rohini Lakshané is a speaker at this event. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Tactical Tech is interested in the problem of online harassment as a barrier to political participation in quantified societies, and in terms of the harm it causes those targeted. We have been working to customise tactics of resistance and support to communities/individuals who are working online and are exposed to, or are at risk of, harassment.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This Satellite Session at Rightscon is fashioned as an intervention into ongoing advocacy, research, and practical support efforts, and seeks to interrogate a wide range of possible framings of (as well as responses to) online harassment.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For more info, <a class="external-link" href="https://tacticaltech.org/projects/other-women-exploring-harassment-and-difference-online">click here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/other-than-women-exploring-harassment-and-difference-online'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/other-than-women-exploring-harassment-and-difference-online</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFreedom of Speech and ExpressionInternet Governance2017-03-27T16:11:30ZNews ItemOpen letter to Hillary Clinton on Internet Freedom
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/open-letter-to-hillary-clinton
<b>Last month I wrote an open letter to Hillary Clinton. It was based on a presentation I that I made during a panel discussion at a Google sponsored conference titled Internet at Liberty 2012 in Washington DC on May 24, 2012.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Sunil Abraham's article was <a class="external-link" href="http://thinkingaloud.in/ArticleComments.aspx?ArtId=1097">published</a> in Thinking Aloud on July 17, 2012</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The question that my panel tried to grapple with was "In a world where nearly nine out of ten Internet users are not American, what is the responsibility of United States institutions in promoting internet freedom?" My co-panelists were Cynthia Wong who is with the Centre for Democracy and Technology, Mohamed El Dahshan a writer and journalist, Dunja Mijatovic the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.<br /><br />Internet freedom is a curious subject. It is a technology specific liberty - for a moment consider television freedom. The US has more Muslims than India has Christians. But Indian television in the average hotel comes in hundreds and there are at least 3 channels of Christian preaching. But US television in hotels is usually less than 50 channels with no channels of Islamic preaching. In fact even the reception of secular channels from the Islamic World like Al Jazeera is still difficult in America. Can we accuse the US of not having television freedom since their television features Christian evangelists but not Muslim evangelists? Should it be part of India's foreign policy to evangelize television freedom given that there is a large domestic industry with clear international potential?<br /><br />In an ideal world - citizens will possess technology-neutral freedom to communication and expression. But nothing can be farther from the truth. Communication technologies are regulated using a plethora of policies and practices and very often these have a chilling effect on freedoms.<br /><br />The following is my response to the technology-specific demands for deregulation from the US Government.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Text of the Open Letter[2]</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Recognise Access to Knowledge (A2K) as pre-condition for freedom of expression</b>: There is no difference between aggressive enforcement of imbalanced and obsolete intellectual property laws and censorship. The need of the moment is not more enforcement to protect obsolete business models against the everyday practices of ordinary netizens but rather the reform of intellectual property law (levies, broader exceptions and limitations, pools, statutory and compulsory licenses, prizes etc.) to keep pace with innovations in technology and the production of knowledge and culture.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Recognise privacy as pre-condition for security:</b> The alleged tension between privacy and security is a false dichotomy. Blanket surveillance by design compromises security. <b>Surveillance is like salt in cooking — essential in very small quantities but dangerous even if slightly in excess. Blanket surveillance technologies are only going make things easier for — and will only serve as targets for — current and future online villains.</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Don't lose the moral high-ground:</b> Remember, with great power comes great responsibility. Other countries are waiting to cherry pick from your worst practices. Also don't use trade agreements to selectively export components of US policy without the accompanying safeguards for civil liberties and rights. Citizens in oppressive and authoritarian states are depending on the US government, courts and civil society to protect their rights online. Don't undermine their capacity to shame their governments by holding up the US as the example of 'how to get things right'. They urgently need the US government to lead by example.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Recognise that freedom of expression has become a trade issue:</b> This is unfortunate but this is true — thanks to the precedent set by the developed world when it came to asymmetric trade negotiations. Just as the US is interested in protecting the interests of its corporations in global markets — other governments are keen protect the interests of their own corporations. The optimal solution in this case is where all countries and corporations are equally unsatisfied. This will remain a continuing discussion.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Address developing country anxieties around critical internet infrastructure:</b> Security by obscurity will no longer do — security by transparency through open standards, technologies and governance is the only way to fears and build a trust-worthy and secure Internet for all of us. For example, there is urgent need to develop standards for supply chain audits of information infrastructure. The US has dealt with the fear of back doors by banning the use of hardware and software from countries it does not trust. The developing world is not sure if there are back-doors in hardware and software manufactured by US corporations.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Time has comes to address this and other related anxieties.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Appreciate diversity in nomenclature:</b> 'Freedom' and 'liberty' may be appropriate terms to use in the United States of America. But openness may be more in countries that are not yet full and robust liberal democracies. The Internet Governance Forum for example uses 'openness' instead of 'freedom'. Openness is also preferred because it includes 'freedom of expression', 'freedom of information' (also known as right to information, access to information or public and 'free knowledge' (free software, open standards, open content, open access, open data, open educational resources, etc.)</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Don't be too instrumental in your interventions:</b> Don't undermine the local credibility of like-minded civil society, think-tanks and research organisations by being too directive in your support. Managerialism will undermine reform of policies and practices in information societies and so does inappropriate/premature monitoring and evaluation (for example, looking for explicit attribution in terms of casual connections between your actions and outcomes). There is a need to support greater reflexivity in the global information society by developing institutional capacity in developing countries through unrestricted funding. True critical thinking is the foundation of both scientific progress and open societies. Go out of your way to find and support those who disagree with you. Protect the plural foundation of our networked society!</p>
<hr />
<h3>Video</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Sunil Abraham was a speaker along with Cynthia Wong, Mohamed El Dahshan and Dunja Mijatovic in Plenary IV Debate 3 at the <b>Internet at Liberty 2012 </b>event<b> </b>organised by Google on May 24, 2012. <b><br /></b></p>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9YMte4hdYu0" width="320"></iframe></p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YMte4hdYu0">View the video on YouTube</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/open-letter-to-hillary-clinton'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/open-letter-to-hillary-clinton</a>
</p>
No publishersunilFreedom of Speech and ExpressionVideoInternet GovernanceAccess to Knowledge2012-09-04T08:28:02ZBlog EntryOnline Pre-Censorship is Harmful and Impractical
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/online-pre-censorship-harmful-impractical
<b>The Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Mr. Kapil Sibal wants Internet intermediaries to pre-censor content uploaded by their users. Pranesh Prakash takes issue with this and explains why this is a problem, even if the government's heart is in the right place. Further, he points out that now is the time to take action on the draconian IT Rules which are before the Parliament.</b>
<p>Mr. Sibal is a knowledgeable lawyer, and according to a senior lawyer friend of his with whom I spoke yesterday, greatly committed to ideals of freedom of speech. He would not lightly propose regulations that contravene Article 19(1)(a) [freedom of speech and expression] of our Constitution. Yet his recent proposals regarding controlling online speech seem unreasonable. My conclusion is that the minister has not properly grasped the way the Web works, is frustrated because of the arrogance of companies like Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. And while he has his heart in the right place, his lack of knowledge of the Internet is leading him astray. The more important concern is the<a class="external-link" href="http://www.mit.gov.in/sites/upload_files/dit/files/RNUS_CyberLaw_15411.pdf"> IT Rules</a> that have been in force since April 2011.</p>
<h3>Background <br /></h3>
<p>The New York Times scooped a story on Monday revealing that Mr. Sibal and the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.mit.gov.in/">MCIT</a> had been <a class="external-link" href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/india-asks-google-facebook-others-to-screen-user-content/?scp=2&sq=kapil%20sibal&st=cse">in touch with Facebook, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft</a>, asking them to set up a system whereby they would manually filter user-generated content before it is published, to ensure that objectionable speech does not get published. Specifically, he mentioned content that hurt people's religious sentiments and content that Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor described as <a class="external-link" href="http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/i-am-against-web-censorship-shashi-tharoor_745587.html">'vile' and capable of inciting riots as being problems</a>. Lastly, Mr. Sibal defended this as not being "censorship" by the government, but "supervision" of user-generated content by the companies themselves.</p>
<h3>Concerns <br /></h3>
<p>One need not give lectures on the benefits of free speech, and Mr. Sibal is clear that he does not wish to impinge upon it. So one need not point out that freedom of speech means nothing if not the freedom to offend (as long as no harm is caused). There can, of course, be reasonable limitations on freedom of speech as provided in Article 19 of the <a class="external-link" href="http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm">ICCPR</a> and in Article 19(2) of our Constitution. My problem lies elsewhere.</p>
<h3>Secrecy <br /></h3>
<p>It is unfortunate that the New York Times has to be given credit for Mr. Sibal addressing a press conference on this issue (and he admitted as much). What he is proposing is not enforcement of existing rules and regulations, but of a new restriction on online speech. This should have, in a democracy, been put out for wide-ranging public consultations first.</p>
<h3>Making intermediaries responsible <br /></h3>
<p>The more fundamental disagreement is that over how the question of what should not be published should be decided, and how that decision should be and how that should be carried out, and who can be held liable for unlawful speech. I believe that "to make the intermediary liable for the user violating that code would, I think, not serve the larger interests of the market." Mr. Sibal said that in May this year <a class="external-link" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304563104576355223687825048.html">in an interview with the Wall Street Journal</a>. The intermediaries (that is, all persons and companies who transmit or host content on behalf of a third party), are but messengers just like a post office and do not exercise editorial control, unlike a newspaper. (By all means prosecute Facebook, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft whenever they have created unlawful content, have exercised editorial control over unlawful content, have incited and encouraged unlawful activities, or know after a court order or the like that they are hosting illegal content and still do not remove it.)
Newspapers have editors who can take responsibility for content published in the newspaper. They can afford to, because the number of articles in a newspaper is limited. YouTube, which has 48 hours of videos uploaded every minutes, cannot. One wag suggested that Mr. Sibal was not suggesting a means of censorship, but of employment generation and social welfare for censors and editors. To try and extend editorial duties to these 'intermediaries' by executive order or through 'forceful suggestions' to these companies cannot happen without amending s.79 of the Information Technology Act which ensures they are not to be held liable for their user's content: the users are.
Internet speech has, to my knowledge, and to date, has never caused a riot in India. It is when it is translated into inflammatory speeches on the ground with megaphones that offensive speech, whether in books or on the Internet, actually become harmful, and those should be targeted instead. And the same laws that apply to offline speech already apply online. If such speech is inciting violence then the police can be contacted and a magistrate can take action. Indeed, Internet companies like Facebook, Google, etc., exercise self-regulation already (excessively and wrongly, I feel sometimes). Any person can flag any content on YouTube or Facebook as violating the site's terms of use. Indeed, even images of breast-feeding mothers have been removed from Facebook on the basis of such complaints. So it is mistaken to think that there is no self-regulation. In two recent cases, the High Courts of Bombay (<a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/janhit-manch-v-union-of-india" class="internal-link" title="Janhit Manch & Ors. v. The Union of India"><em>Janhit Manch v. Union of India</em></a>) and Madras (<em>R. Karthikeyan v. Union of India</em>) refused to direct the government and intermediaries to police online content, saying that places an excessive burden on freedom of speech.</p>
<h3>IT Rules, 2011 <br /></h3>
<p>In this regard, the IT Rules published in April 2011 are great offenders. While speech that is 'disparaging' (while not being defamatory) is not prohibited by any statute, yet intermediaries are required not to carry 'disparaging' speech, or speech to which the user has no right (how is this to be judged? do you have rights to the last joke that you forwarded?), or speech that promotes gambling (as the government of Sikkim does through the PlayWin lottery), and a myriad other kinds of speech that are not prohibited in print or on TV. Who is to judge whether something is 'disparaging'? The intermediary itself, on pain of being liable for prosecution if it is found have made the wrong decision. And any person may send a notice to an intermediary to 'disable' content, which has to be done within 36 hours if the intermediary doesn't want to be held liable. Worst of all, there is no requirement to inform the user whose content it is, nor to inform the public that the content is being removed. It just disappears, into a memory hole. It does not require a paranoid conspiracy theorist to see this as a grave threat to freedom of speech.
Many human rights activists and lawyers have made a very strong case that the IT Rules on Intermediary Due Diligence are unconstitutional. Parliament still has an opportunity to reject these rules until the end of the 2012 budget session. Parliamentarians must act now to uphold their oaths to the Constitution.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/online-pre-censorship-harmful-impractical'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/online-pre-censorship-harmful-impractical</a>
</p>
No publisherpraneshIT ActObscenityFreedom of Speech and ExpressionPublic AccountabilityYouTubeSocial mediaInternet GovernanceFeaturedIntermediary LiabilityCensorshipSocial Networking2011-12-12T17:00:50ZBlog EntryOnline gag:Existing rules give little freedom
https://cis-india.org/online-gag
<b>Even as the controversy over Kapil Sibal's attempt to get internet giants such as Google and Facebook to prescreen user-generated content to weed out 'offensive' material rages, a yet-to-be-published study by Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society reveals that rules already in place can have "chilling effects on free expression on the internet".</b>
<p>The study set out to examine if the Information Technology
(Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules 2011, notified in April 2011, could
create a gagging effect on websites that provide a platform for
user-generated content in the form of opinion and comments. Websites
such as Facebook, Yahoo, YouTube and Twitter fall under this category.
The study was commissioned by the Centre for Internet and Society, which
was invited to comment on the department of information technology when
it framed the seminal Information Technology Act 2000.</p>
<p>The study author set out to test the process of 'takedown'
(requesting an internet entity to remove material that can be
interpreted as 'hateful', 'disparaging', 'defamatory', etc) by notifying
seven separate internet entities of content linked to their websites or
hosted by them that could, in very loose terms, be deemed offensive.
The entities are not named in the study.</p>
<p>This first-of-a-kind experiment included actions such as sending
search engines a takedown notice alerting it to results on searching the
keywords 'online gambling' and alerting a news website about comments
on a news story related to the Telangana dispute.</p>
<p>In six of the seven cases, the intermediaries and hosts - technical
terms for websites that host content - acted promptly to not only remove
the 'offensive' content without due processes of investigation but in
some cases went beyond their brief to remove all content connected with
the one mentioned in the takedown notice.</p>
<p>For instance, a news website that was sent a takedown notice about a
well-argued and non-abusive comment to an article on the Telangana issue
took down not just that comment, but all 15 comments published below
the article In the case of the results of a search for 'online
gambling', despite the fact that intermediaries are exempted from being
implicated in such cases, one search engine notified took down not just
the three links mentioned in the notice but another 25 sub-domains as
well, "presumably to avoid legal risk and to err on the side of
caution," the CIS report says.</p>
<p>"Our criticism is of the policy and not of the websites and Internet
entities that are forced to err on the side of caution when faced by
such notices," says Sunil Abraham, executive director, Centre for
Internet and Society. "We are aware that they do not always have the
legal and manpower resources necessary to monitor the enormous volumes
of content they host." These companies often overstep their brief in
order to avoid legal hassles resulting from what Abraham calls
"unconstitutional limits on free speech".</p>
<p>The original story was published by the Times of India on 9 December 2011. Sunil Abraham was quoted in it. Read the story on Times of India <a class="external-link" href="http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIBG/2011/12/09&PageLabel=12&EntityId=Ar01201&ViewMode=HTML">here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/online-gag'>https://cis-india.org/online-gag</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFreedom of Speech and ExpressionInternet Governance2011-12-12T05:42:05ZNews ItemOnline Censorship: How Government should Approach Regulation of Speech
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/economic-times-december-2-2012-sunil-abraham-online-censorship
<b>Why is there a constant brouhaha in India about online censorship? What must be done to address this?</b>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Sunil Abraham's article was <a class="external-link" href="http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-12-02/news/35530550_1_internet-censorship-speech-unintended-consequences">published in the Economic Times</a> on December 2, 2012.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Of course, we must get the basics right — bad law has to be amended, read down by courts or repealed, and bad implementation of law should be addressed via reform and capacity building for the police. But most importantly those in power must understand how to approach the regulation of speech.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To begin with, speech is regulated across the world. Even in the US — contrary to popular impression in India — speech is regulated both online and offline.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">However, law is not the basis of most of this regulation. Speech is largely regulated by social norms. Different corners of our online and offline society have quite complex forms of self-regulation.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The harm caused by speech is often proportionate to the power of the person speaking — it maybe unacceptable for a politician or a filmstar to make an inflammatory remark but that very same utterance from an ordinary citizen may be totally fine.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To complicate matters, the very same speech by the very same person could be harmful or harmless based on context. A newspaper editor may share obscene jokes with friends in a bar, but may not take similar liberties in an editorial.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The legal scholar Alan Dershowitz tells us, "The best answer to bad speech is good speech." More recently the quote has been amended, with "more speech" replacing "good speech".</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Censorship by the state has to be reserved for the rarest of rare circumstances. This is because censorship usually results in unintended consequences.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The "Streisand Effect", named after the singer-actor Barbra Streisand, is one of these consequences wherein attempts to hide or censor information only result in wider circulation and greater publicity.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Maharashtra police's attempt to censor the voices of two women has resulted in their speech being broadcast across the nation on social and mainstream media. If the state had instead focused on producing good speech and more speech, nobody would have even heard of these women.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Circumventing Censorship</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Peer-to-peer technologies on the internet mimic the topology of human networks and can also precipitate unintended consequences when subject to regulation. John Gilmore, a respected free software developer, puts it succinctly: "The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it."<br /><br />Most of the internet censorship in the US is due to IPR-enforcement activities. This is why Christopher Soghoian, a leading privacy activist, attributes the massive adoption of privacy-enhancing technologies such as proxies and VPNs (virtual private networks) by American consumers to the crackdown on online piracy.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In India, and even when the government has had legitimate reasons to regulate speech, there have been unintended consequences.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">During the exodus of people from the North-east, the five SMS per day restriction imposed by the government resulted in another exodus from SMS to alternative messaging platforms such as BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), WhatsApp and Twitter.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In both cases the circumvention of censorship by the users has resulted in a worsening situation for law-enforcement organisations — VPNs and applications like WhatsApp are much more difficult to monitor and regulate.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Mixed Memes</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Regulation of speech also cannot be confused with cyber war or security. Speech can occasionally have security implications but that cannot be the basis for enlightened regulation.<br /><br />A cyber war expert may be tempted to think of censored content as weapons, but unlike weapons that usually remain lethal, content that can cause harm today may become completely harmless tomorrow. This is unlike a computer virus or malware. For example, during the exodus, the online edition of ET featured the complete list of 309 URLs that were in the four block orders issued by the government to ISPs.<br /><br />However, this did not result in fresh harm, demonstrating the fallacy of cyber war analogies. A cyber security expert, on the other hand, may be tempted to implement a 360° blanket surveillance to regulate speech, but as Gilmore again puts it, "If you're watching everybody, you're watching nobody."<br /><br />In short, if your answer to bad speech is more censorship, more surveillance and more regulation, then as the internet meme goes, "You're Doing It Wrong".</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/economic-times-december-2-2012-sunil-abraham-online-censorship'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/economic-times-december-2-2012-sunil-abraham-online-censorship</a>
</p>
No publishersunilSocial MediaFreedom of Speech and ExpressionPublic AccountabilityInternet GovernanceCensorship2012-12-05T07:06:52ZBlog EntryOnline Abuse of Teen Girls in Kashmir Leads to Arrests
https://cis-india.org/news/ny-times-feb-8-2013-betwa-sharma-online-abuse-of-teen-girls-in-kashmir-leads-to-arrests
<b>Online abuse and a fatwa aimed at a rock band of Muslim teenage girls in Kashmir have led to arrests and a threat of a lawsuit. </b>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This article by Betwa Sharma was <a class="external-link" href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/online-abuse-of-teen-girls-in-kashmir-leads-to-arrests/">published</a> in the New York Times on February 8, 2013. Pranesh Prakash is quoted.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Three men were arrested this week for posting threatening messages on the Facebook page of Praagaash, an amateur rock band in Indian-occupied Kashmir made of up Muslim girls. “The investigation is ongoing,” said Manoj Pandita, spokesman for the Jammu and Kashmir police, indicating that more arrests may follow.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The three men were charged under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, which applies to “offensive” messages being sent through communication services, and Section 506 of the Ranbir Penal Code, which applies to criminal intimidation. Mr. Pandita said that it had been easy to track the I.P. addresses of the Facebook users.<span id="more-55629"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A prominent human rights lawyer, Parvez Imroz of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, is planning to sue the top religious leader in Kashmir, who called for the fatwa, for “demonizing Kashmir before the international community” and for “running a parallel judicial system in the valley.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Mr. Imroz told India Ink that human rights organizations like his needed support from the international community to highlight their concerns, and such fatwas reflected badly on the Kashmiri society. “He is diverting attention away from real issues of human rights to nonissues like music and purdah,” Mr. Imroz said.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The fatwa against the band was issued by the Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In his fatwa, Mr. Ahmad advised women to only sing inside the house to other female members of the family, and wear a veil whenever they left the house. “They must stay within limits,” he said.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Following the band’s first live performance in December, Aneeqa Khalid, Noma Nazir and Farah Deeba, 10th-grade students who are 15 and 16 years old, became the target of abuse and threats on Facebook by people who accused them of being un-Islamic because they had performed in public, especially before men. <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/112765019253836299953/albums/5839954496440638817" target="_blank">Some commenters</a> called them “sluts” and “prostitutes;” others suggested that they should be raped.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The band Praagaash, which means “darkness into light,” <a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/muslim-girls-quit-rock-band-after-national-controversy/" target="_blank">disbanded following a national controversy</a> surrounding these threatening messages. The threats were condemned by many, including the state’s chief minister.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To many Kashmiris, both the fatwa and the arrests by the government are unnecessary. Some say that the controversy erupted after the state’s chief minister, Omar Abdullah, got involved by expressing his support for the band on Twitter and then calling for investigation against those writing the threatening messages.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“Nobody here had a problem with the rock band,” said Aala Fazili, a doctorate student at Kashmir University, pointing out that the band’s performance in December had not led to any protests or physical threats against them.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Mr. Fazili, 32, added that people shouldn’t be arrested for writing abusive posts on Facebook. “You cannot call an abuse a threat,” he said.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Mr. Pandita, the Kashmir police spokesman, said the investigators were making a distinction between a threat and abuse on the basis of “gravity.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Pranesh Prakash, from the Center for Internet and Society in Bangalore, asked whether people who hold protests calling for the death of the author Salman Rushdie should also be arrested for making threats.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“I would hold that no expression of violent thoughts, online or offline, should be made criminal, even if it is repugnantly misogynistic, unless it takes the form of a credible threat that causes harm, or is harassment that constitutes harm,” he said.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/news/ny-times-feb-8-2013-betwa-sharma-online-abuse-of-teen-girls-in-kashmir-leads-to-arrests'>https://cis-india.org/news/ny-times-feb-8-2013-betwa-sharma-online-abuse-of-teen-girls-in-kashmir-leads-to-arrests</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFreedom of Speech and ExpressionInternet GovernanceCensorship2013-03-06T03:51:20ZNews ItemOn the legality and constitutionality of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/on-the-legality-and-constitutionality-of-the-information-technology-intermediary-guidelines-and-digital-media-ethics-code-rules-2021
<b>This note examines the legality and constitutionality of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The analysis is consistent with previous work carried out by CIS on issues of intermediary liability and freedom of expression. </b>
<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-6127737f-7fff-b2eb-1b4a-ff9009a1050f"></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">On 25 February 2021, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (hereinafter, ‘the rules’). In this note, we examine whether the rules meet the tests of constitutionality under Indian jurisprudence, whether they are consistent with the parent Act, and discuss potential benefits and harms that may arise from the rules as they are currently framed. Further, we make some recommendations to amend the rules so that they stay in constitutional bounds, and are consistent with a human rights based approach to content regulation. Please note that we cover some of the issues that CIS has already highlighted in comments on previous versions of the rules.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">The note can be downloaded <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/legality-constitutionality-il-rules-digital-media-2021">here</a>.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/on-the-legality-and-constitutionality-of-the-information-technology-intermediary-guidelines-and-digital-media-ethics-code-rules-2021'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/on-the-legality-and-constitutionality-of-the-information-technology-intermediary-guidelines-and-digital-media-ethics-code-rules-2021</a>
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No publisherTorsha Sarkar, Gurshabad Grover, Raghav Ahooja, Pallavi Bedi and Divyank KatiraFreedom of Speech and ExpressionInternet GovernanceIntermediary LiabilityInternet FreedomInformation Technology2021-06-21T11:52:39ZBlog EntryOn social media, Modi goes soft
https://cis-india.org/news/hindustan-times-specials-coverage-gujarat-assembly-elections-2012-zia-haq-oct-26-2012-on-social-media-modi-goes-soft
<b>“Truth stands on its own; it doesn’t need a prop.” Is this Mahatma Gandhi? No, it’s Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Twitter. Gujarat’s elections are near, but in the arena of social media, Modi has already won. From over a million subscribers on Twitter to a Facebook page flooded with “likes”, Modi’s net is cast wide. </b>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">Zia Haq's article was <a class="external-link" href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/Specials/Coverage/Gujarat-Assembly-Elections-2012/Chunk-HT-UI-GujaratAssemblyElections2012-DontMiss/On-social-media-Modi-goes-soft/SP-Article10-950251.aspx">published in the Hindustan Times</a> on October 26, 2012. Sunil Abraham is quoted.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">In political rallies, Modi roars with demagogic speeches. On Twitter, he displays a softer, brooding side: “Powers of the mind are like rays of light.” Only occasionally is a political challenge thrown in: “Delhi Sultanate treats Gujarat like enemy nation but Gujarat will never bow.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A polarising figure still, Modi is often accused of avoiding action to stop a carnage that killed nearly 2,000 people in 2002, mostly Muslims. Yet, he has pulled off a stunning PR strategy on social media to showcase Gujarat as India’s Guandong, a Chinese province with top GDP rankings. Gujarat has posted robust growth rates, although its human-development indicators remain skewed.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Modi became the third politician globally, after Obama and the Australian PM, to host a political conference on Google+ hangout, a video chat platform. In the past quarter, he added nearly 24,000 Twitter subscribers every 12 days, according to twittercounter.com.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Modi has leveraged social media in a way the Congress hasn’t been able to. Unlike him, none among the Congress’s leadership, including Rahul Gandhi, has a personal Twitter account. “Our leaders believe more in transparent dialogues with the public, rather than spreading Internet canards,” said Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Shashi Tharoor, a Congress MP with the highest Twitter subscriber base among Indian politicians, attracts mostly the elite, not the masses.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">He jibes at his own government with irreverent tweets often making his party frown.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Yet, research shows that social media is more persuasive than television ads. Nearly 100 million Indians, more than Germany’s population, use the Internet.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Of this, the 40 million who have broadband are the ones active on the social media. “Unlike Obama, who used it directly for votes, Indian politicians tend to use social media more to mould public discourse,” says Sunil Abraham, the CEO of The Centre for Internet and Society.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/news/hindustan-times-specials-coverage-gujarat-assembly-elections-2012-zia-haq-oct-26-2012-on-social-media-modi-goes-soft'>https://cis-india.org/news/hindustan-times-specials-coverage-gujarat-assembly-elections-2012-zia-haq-oct-26-2012-on-social-media-modi-goes-soft</a>
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No publisherpraskrishnaFreedom of Speech and ExpressionSocial mediaInternet Governance2012-11-02T06:20:13ZNews ItemOfficials Raise Questions over Indian Government’s Efforts
https://cis-india.org/news/frenchtribune-com-bruce-totolos-aug-22-2012-officials-raise-questions-over-indian-governments-efforts
<b>As per a recent report, it has been revealed that the Indian government despite making several efforts to resolve the issue of hate speech seems failing in the same.</b>
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<p>This post by Bruce Totolos was <a class="external-link" href="http://frenchtribune.com/teneur/1213011-officials-raise-questions-over-indian-government-s-efforts">published</a> in the French Tribune on August 22, 2012. Sunil Abraham is quoted.</p>
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<p>It is being said that no doubt the government has taken strict actions since the rumours came into picture from the last week. 245 Web pages have been blocked with effect from Friday along with limitations over text messages to five a day for 15 days. But, many websites are still containing some morphed images of violence.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">As per some officials in New Delhi, it is a matter of huge concern still not being taken seriously by online companies like Google and Facebook. It is known to everyone that previous such images and SMSs led some northeastern India’s people to leave Chennai, Bangalore and Pune, they say.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">However, the internet firms claim that they are making all possible endeavours. It was told that only reason for not answering certain request was it hampered users’ rights.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“The Internet intermediaries are responding slowly because now they have to trawl through their networks and identify hate speech. The government acted appropriately, but without sufficient sophistication”, said executive director Sunil Abraham from the Center for Internet and Society in Bangalore.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/news/frenchtribune-com-bruce-totolos-aug-22-2012-officials-raise-questions-over-indian-governments-efforts'>https://cis-india.org/news/frenchtribune-com-bruce-totolos-aug-22-2012-officials-raise-questions-over-indian-governments-efforts</a>
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No publisherpraskrishnaFreedom of Speech and ExpressionInternet GovernanceCensorship2012-09-04T12:36:48ZNews Item