Striking down Section 66A IT Act: In March 2015 SC struck down Section 66A of the IT Act which contained provisions for the arrest of those who posted offensive content on the Internet.
In 2015, in a landmark judgments upholding the right to free speech in recent times, the Supreme Court in Shreya Singhal and Ors. Vs Union of India, struck down Section 66A of the Information & Technology Act, 2000. The ruling which is being lauded by the common man and legal luminaries alike, found the Cyber law provision to be open-ended, vague and unconstitutional owing to the restriction it caused to the Indian citizens’ right to free speech.
The repeal of this section does not however result in an unrestricted right to free speech since analogous provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) will continue to apply to social media online viz. Intentionally Insulting Religion Or Religious Beliefs, Promoting Enmity Between Groups On Grounds Of Religion, Race etc., Defamation, Statements conducing to Public Mischief, Insulting The Modesty Of A Woman, Criminal Intimidation (S 506), etc. are liable for reasonable restrictions if necessary.
Revisiting Section 69 of IT Act (December 2018): Under this Section government authorized 10 agencies to monitor on exchange of information between individuals and banned/ militant groups.
Amending the IT Act December 2018: MeiTY prepared the draft Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines Rules), 2018 to replace the rules notified in 2011.
Social Media law’s India is regulated by the Information Technology Act which was enacted in the year 2000 to regulate, control and deal with the issues arising out of the IT. The offences listed are -
Posting of defamatory comment or material against someone- Offence under Section 66A (Now declared invalid) of the IT Act, punishable with imprisonment
Even liking of sharing such comment can constitute an offence
Posting defamatory material or comment- Criminal defamation under Section 499 of IPC.
Posting of defamatory material or comment against someone- he or she can sue you before the civil court and seek damages besides injunction
Posting or selling pornographic material on the net- Offence under Section 292, 292A, 293, 294 IPC punishable with imprisonment
Posting secret information, documents of Government, photographs of prohibited place- Punishable for the violation of Officials Secrets Act
Posting copied material on the website- Offence under Copyright Act.
Dos and Don’ts on Social Media
Do not make unknown people as friends.
Do not like or share seemingly offensive comments.
Do not make offensive comments against anyone.
Do not post or share offensive material even against your know persons.
Do not share any link with porn sites or like porn material.
Do not post copied material anywhere as it may be in violation of the Copyright Act.
