Page 24 - EducationWorld May 2021

Expert Comment

Social media regulations

require wider debate

RAHUL SINGH

REEDOM OF EXPRESSION IS RECOGNISED AS ough some of the reasons advanced
a fundamental right under Article 19 of the United
Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for regulating social media are justified,
F1948. Indeed, it has always been considered the the new social media guidelines are open
cornerstone of all democracies.
The 19th century French philosopher, Voltaire, put it to subjective interpretation by petty
succintly, “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I bureaucrats and policemen
will defend to the death your right to say it.” This should be
the non-negotiable stand of every true democrat.
India could with some justification proudly claim that it routed the Congress and allied parties. But although it
for over four decades after independence, except for Indira has substantially tamed the press and television channels,
Gandhi’s 19 months of Emergency rule (1975-77), it had ar- it evidently fears the unrestrained freedom of social media
guably the most independent press of the developing world. platforms. Therefore, on February 25, the Union govern-
The only way the government could exert pressure on a ment released its draft Information Technology (Inter-
newspaper critical of official policies was by withholding mediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules
government advertising or not releasing sufficient news- 2021. These rules have not been placed before Parliament
print imports (newsprint was then in short supply) — pres- for discussion and debate. They are unobtrusively posted
sures that worked against small publications but not against on the websites of the Union ministry of information and
mass circulation newspapers and magazines. broadcasting and the ministry of electronics and informa-
The Indian media scene changed radically with the ad- tion technology for public comment which is likely to be
vent of private cable TV news channels. Doordarshan lost sparse and can be conveniently ignored.
its monopoly over the electronic media and became a side- he rationale of these rules is that social media platforms
show, at least in urban areas, while private channels became Tare misused for hate speech and fake news which create
dominant. Today, they are competing with the print media law and order problems, and air content which is indecent
for influence and power. As a result, they have attracted the and immoral and likely to mentally corrupt and destabilize
attention of large business houses such as Reliance and the citizens in all walks of life. Certainly there is a strong case
Birlas, who have bought into these channels. to block out the flood of pornography being broadcast from
Nevertheless, the Central — and to a lesser extent — state numerous western countries where generating and dissemi-
governments are able to arm-twist them to give prominence nating depraved porn is a major industry that has prompted
to their viewpoints. This trend has become particularly pro- a huge rise in sex crimes around the world, especially in de-
nounced ever since BJP supremo Narendra Modi became veloping countries, where the majority of population tends
prime minister in 2014. The result is that Freedom House, to be young and impressionable.
a London-based non-profit that measures media freedom Though some of the reasons advanced for regulating so-
worldwide, has downgraded Indian democracy to ‘partially cial media to detect and punish disseminators of fake news,
free’ status because of government shackles on freedom of promoters of religious and caste hatred, and ensuring the
expression and right to dissent. safety of children using the Internet are justified, the new
Almost simultaneously, in recent years the flooding of social media guidelines invest government with wide pow-
markets worldwide with instant connectivity smart phones, ers to ban content. These regulations are also open to sub-
has ushered in a new age of information. It has changed jective interpretation by petty bureaucrats and policemen
our lives in ways that we have yet to come to terms with. doing the government’s bidding. The country has already
Whereas the press and television are subject to legal rules experienced misuse of the British-era sedition law to stifle
and regulations, social media is a no-holds-barred unregu- dissent, and use of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,
lated phenomenon enabling every individual to transmit 1967 to jail social activists without trial.
whatever he/she likes for public consumption. Therefore the time window for debating the amended
Over 300 million Indians now have smart phones con- rules of the IT Act which are proposed to be finalised by
nected to the Internet. This enables them to access social “mid-May” needs to be extended to allow wider debate.
media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, With the print and broadcast media already stifled there’s
and Twitter, on which they can globally broadcast their a clear and present danger that social media will also be
views and news. Recent corporate entrants are news portals muzzled and forced to toe the BJP/NDA government’s of-
such as The Wire, Print and Scroll which are more outspo- ficial line. At stake is arguably the most precious right of all
ken than television channels. democracies: the right to freedom of expression.
The BJP leadership recognised the reach and influence
of social media even before General Election 2014 in which (Rahul Singh is a former editor of Reader’s Digest and Indian Express)

24 EDUCATIONWORLD MAY 2021