Enacted by MeitY in May 2021, the Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules 2021.sought to both protect ‘digital Indians’ from the harms of Big Tech intermediaries and regulate the work of online publishers….They have been challenged in nineteen separate cases across the country—with specific portions stayed by multiple High Courts. A common cause for concern: they exert a chilling effect on free speech in India.
Republished from The Leaflet with permission Hate speech vitiates the very purpose of free speech, which is the free and fearless operation of a human mind that constantly seeks answers and the truth, says Ujjaini Chatterjee Contemporary Indian democracy is at a threshold of its constitutionalism. Amidst the […]
By Geeta Seshu The Bengaluru police action that resulted in the cancellation of comedian Munawar Faruqui’s show in the city is shameful. More than just a caving in to right-wing pressure, it is a clear abrogation of the duty of the police to uphold law and order. On […]
In a surprising development, Justice Gautam Patel of the Bombay High Court has come out with a set of guidelines to deal with ‘protecting’ the identity of all parties in sexual harassment cases and also regulating the manner in which proceedings in such cases are reported. This amounts […]
Courts have once again found no substance in flimsy accusations of sedition slapped by over-zealous police, reports Anjuman Ara Begum.
Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal, Executive Editor, Kashmir TImes, delivered the 40th J.P Memorial lecture on March 23, 2020. The prestigious memorial lecture marks the day Emergency was lifted in India. In her lecture, she gives a panoramic view of the events that have occurred since the Modi regime took […]
(republished with permission) By Pramod Ranjan (Note: The notification of the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 have far-reaching implications for freedom of expression on the Internet and will, in the name of regulation by a three-tier mechanism overseen by government officials, […]
Last week, environmental groups were taken by surprise at the block on environmental websites and a notice by Delhi police against multiple emails sent to Environmental minister Prakash Jawadekar. The block has now been lifted but the notice remains. Radhika Jhaveri explains why Internet censorship has become a […]
Free Speech Collective 