JOIN USLaws must conform to constitutional values
Union Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who has led the campaign for implementation of the government’s new IT rules, has warned social media companies that they will have to follow Indian laws if they have to operate in the country. A tussle has been going on between the government and some of these companies over the demands made on them under the IT rules which were introduced in February and came into effect last month. The rules are intended to regulate the use of content in social media intermediaries and streaming and digital news portals and to bring them under some government supervision. The basic issue involved in such regulation and supervision is that they affect freedom of speech and expression. Though the companies are foreign, they provide a platform for expression of the right to free speech of the citizens of this country. So, regulation of their content can easily become checks on the rights of Indian citizens.
The minister told the social media companies not to lecture the country on “freedom of speech’’ and “democracy’’ and that they will have to “follow the Indian Constitution and Indian laws’’ if they have to do business in the country. Of course, foreign companies have to follow Indian laws and they should not give lessons on freedom of speech and democracy, but the country needs to be concerned when FIRs are lodged for tweeting on social media on toolkits or attacks on people or for reporting on events. The companies should follow the Indian Constitution and laws. But the laws and rules based on them have to be made in accordance with the Constitution. Else, they can be challenged in the courts. It has been pointed out that the demand for identification of the “first originator’’ of a message would violate the right to privacy granted by the Constitution. It has also been held that the IT rules of 2021 are beyond the scope of the IT Act and do not have legislative support. Some of these issues are before the courts, and the minister should await a judicial decision.
The minister said: “India has free and fair elections, an independent judiciary, media, civil society. Here I am talking to students and taking questions, and this is true democracy.’’ These are rhetorical assertions and the validity of some of them are today under question. Such general assertions cannot be used to support and justify specific actions and demands, which themselves violate the spirit of those assertions, made on individuals and entities. The minister’s claim that the new IT rules deal with only the “abuse and misuse’' of social media is not credible. They might turn out to be more about abuse and misuse of power by the government.