How The New IT Act Would Infringe Freedom of Speech
Social media now is not merely a platform for social interactions and per videos. It has now become a powerful tool for the people around the world to voice dissent against injustice and Government decisions. But with the new IT Act rules, 2021, the Central Government plans to silence anyone who speaks up. Although not a brand new concept, India has seen a massive rise in social media activism since the protests against CAA NRC started. Posters, pictures of the protest marches, comics and satires criticising the Modi Government circulated widely. Protestors who were on the ground were arrested under UAPA. But the people behind social media who were unabashedly expressing their opinions still had the shield of privacy protection policies of the social media platforms.
But now, the BJP ruled central government has found out a new way of silencing peoples’ displeasure and outrage. The new IT Rules 2021 has been passed by the Government. It is subordinate legislation that suppresses India’s Intermediary Guidelines Rules 2011. But these rules have a wide range of consequences on freedom of speech, online privacy and access to informational resources. Let’s take an overview of the aspects of these new rules.
There is no denying that the history of intermediary rules is sketchy. The three parts of the new IT rules lay down the terms and how it would regulate the Social media intermediaries including messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram, and media related intermediaries, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. It also would regulate digital news and OTT platforms. The categories of the law give the government total discretion to make the media platforms comply with discriminatory norms. The set threshold is ambiguous and vague. Under the new rules, each intermediary will have to notify the users at least once a year and will send them periodic emails reminding them not to do anything “illegal”, or your account would be terminated. Of course here, illegal means not to speak ill of the Government. Law Enforcement agencies can seek ‘assistance’ from the social media intermediaries whenever they seem fit and the intermediaries would be bound by the law to comply with them. It allows the infringement of the privacy of the users. The intermediary would also require to take down anything that the government decides is inappropriate. The new IT law also states that the intermediaries have to reveal the first originator of certain information whenever the authorities ask them to. It breaks the existing protocol of end to end encryption.
This new set of IT laws dangerously curtails the Freedom of Speech of the users. The Modi Government is planning to use this primarily as a gag for the dissenting voices. What this government wants is to create an echo chamber, which would inevitably destroy the Indian democracy. There is no doubt that the IT rules 2021 is in a dire need of judicial review.
