{"id":41768,"date":"2025-04-22T19:34:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T14:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=41768"},"modified":"2025-04-22T19:34:45","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T14:04:45","slug":"censorship-of-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/22-04-2025\/censorship-of-social-media","title":{"rendered":"Censorship of Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Polity and Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Under the <strong>Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)-led Sahyog portal,<\/strong> the government has issued 130 content notices to online platforms like Google, YouTube, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft in the last 6 months.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These notices effectively act as <strong>content blocking orders <\/strong>and are sent under <strong>Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These <strong>fall outside Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act, <\/strong>which has been commonly used to issue online censorship orders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As per Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, online intermediaries<strong> can lose their safe harbour protections<\/strong> if they fail to block access to content which has been flagged by an \u201cappropriate\u201d government agency.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Safe harbor protections <\/strong>provide legal immunity to social media platforms for third-party user-generated content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C)<\/strong><br>&#8211; It is an initiative of the<strong> Ministry of Home Affairs <\/strong>launched in <strong>2020 <\/strong>to deal with cyber crime in the country <strong>in a coordinated and comprehensive manner.<\/strong><br>&#8211; I4C focuses on <strong>tackling all the issues related to Cybercrime for the citizens, <\/strong>which includes improving coordination between various Law Enforcement Agencies and the stakeholders.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Legal Framework: Section 69A vs. Section 79(3)(b)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000:<\/strong> This section empowers the government to <strong>block public access to content<\/strong> on the internet <strong>in certain circumstances, such as <\/strong>concerns over national security, sovereignty, public order, or to prevent incitement.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It includes safeguards as laid out by the <strong>Supreme Court in the Shreya Singhal case (2015).\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A reasoned order explaining the necessity of blocking content.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The person or entity affected should have a<strong> chance to contest the order.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act: <\/strong>This section deals with the <strong>liability of intermediaries (such as platforms like X Corp) for third-party content.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It exempts platforms from<strong> liability for illegal content<\/strong> unless they fail to act <strong>swiftly to remove or disable access<\/strong> to that content when notified by the government.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Intermediaries argue that this provision <strong>should not be used to directly block content<\/strong>, as it is not intended for that purpose.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>The Sahyog Portal<\/strong><br><strong>&#8211; <\/strong>It was launched by<strong> the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2024<\/strong>.<br>&#8211; The portal acts as a <strong>centralized system<\/strong> for government agencies at <strong>various levels<\/strong>\u2014ranging from ministries to local police stations\u2014to issue blocking orders more efficiently.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Digital content censorship<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Digital content censorship refers to the<strong> control of online content by governments, organizations, or other entities.<\/strong> This includes:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Blocking websites and apps<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Removal of social media content<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Regulation of OTT (Over-The-Top) streaming platforms<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Restrictions on digital news and journalism<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Legal Framework Governing Digital Censorship in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Right to Freedom of Speech (Article 19(1)(a)): <\/strong>\u00a0Subject to reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2) concerning decency, morality, and public order.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000<\/strong>: Section 69A grants the government power to block online content for security or public order concerns.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Intermediary Guidelines &amp; Digital Media Ethics Code, 2021: <\/strong>Regulates social media, OTT platforms, and digital news media.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Self-Regulation by OTT Platforms: <\/strong>Platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime follow self-regulatory frameworks such as the Digital Publishers Content Grievances Council (DPCGC).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Central Board of Film Certification (&#8220;CBFC&#8221;)<\/strong>, which was established by the Cinematographic Act, of 1952, is responsible for censoring movies in India.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges in Digital Censorship in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Balancing Freedom of Speech &amp; Regulation<\/strong>: Over-regulation can suppress creativity, while under-regulation can spread harmful content.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Transparency &amp; Accountability:<\/strong> Content moderation and censorship decisions often lack clear guidelines, raising concerns about misuse.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Jurisdictional Issues: <\/strong>Many digital platforms operate from outside India, making enforcement difficult.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Technological Advancements: <\/strong>The rapid evolution of digital media complicates consistent and fair regulation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ethical Concerns:<\/strong> The subjective nature of obscenity laws can lead to arbitrary censorship.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengthening Independent Regulatory Bodies:<\/strong> Ensuring that courts and neutral institutions review censorship decisions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enhancing Transparency in Content Moderation<\/strong>: Digital platforms should publish periodic transparency reports on content takedowns.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Encouraging Digital Literacy:<\/strong> Educating citizens to identify fake news rather than enforcing restrictive censorship.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public Consultation in Policymaking<\/strong>: Involving journalists, legal experts, and civil society in framing digital content regulations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/express-exclusive\/130-censorship-orders-issued-via-homes-sahyog-portal-in-5-months-9957698\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Under the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)-led Sahyog portal, the government has issued 130 content notices to online platforms like Google, YouTube, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft in the last 6 months.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>About<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">These notices effectively act as content blocking orders and are sent under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">These fall outside Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act, which has been commonly used to issue online censorship orders.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/22-04-2025\/censorship-of-social-media\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41768"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41786,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41768\/revisions\/41786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}