Tech Law Forum @ NALSAR

Category: Freedom of Speech

The Fate of Section 230 vis-a-vis Gonzalez v. Google: A Case of Looming Legal Liability

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[This article is authored by Harshitha Adari and Akarshi Narain, 2nd year students at the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. It analyses the arguments in Gonzalez v. Google, a case that came before the United States Supreme Court, in the context of the judgment’s consequences on Internet free speech.]

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is the pillar of internet free speech. It provides “interactive computer services” such as video platforms, social media networks, blogs, and other platforms hosting third-party speech- broad immunity from liability for the content posted by users. It states that “no user or provider of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the speaker or publisher of any information provided by another information content provider.” This protection promotes free internet speech and immunizes service providers and users for removing objectionable content. The drafters of this legislation recognize that an internet unfettered by government regulation is a non-negotiable for free speech to thrive online. However, two pending cases before the US Supreme Court, Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh, challenged the scope of this law’s protections.

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BBC Documentary Ban: Yet Another Example of the Government’s Abuse of its Emergency Powers

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[This post by Paras Khetan and Anish Gupta, 2nd year students at NLSIU, Bangalore, explains how the  order blocking the BBC Documentary is violative of the IT Act and the rules thereunder. It also brings forth the larger problem of constant abuse of the government’s emergency powers under the IT Rules.]

Introduction

Recently, the government issued an order blocking the airing of the BBC documentary titled, ‘India: The Modi Question.’ The government invoked its emergency powers under Rule 16 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021 (‘IT Rules’) to direct YouTube and Twitter to block URLs that enabled access to the documentary. The government in its order cited the impact of the documentary to “undermine the sovereignty and integrity of India” as the ground for banning the documentary. While the validity of the order is currently under challenge in the Supreme Court, the authors are writing this paper in anticipation of the judgement and suggest how the Court should decide the matter at hand. We argue that the government order is plagued with illegality for violating the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (‘IT Act’) and the rules thereunder. The order does away with the safeguards relied upon by the landmark judgement in Shreya Singhal v Union of India while upholding the constitutionality of Section 69A. We shall also conceptualise and situate the recent happenings into the larger paradigm of executive aggrandizement and the constant abuse of emergency powers by the government.

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IT AMENDMENT RULES 2022: An Analysis of What’s Changed

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[This post is authored by Sohina Pawah, a second-year student at the NALSAR University of Law, who is also an Editor for the TLF]

INTRODUCTION

Back in June 2022, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (“MeitY”) had first released the proposed amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“IT Rules 2021”) for public consultation. Recently, the MeitY notified the Amendments to Parts I and II of the IT Rules 2021 by introducing the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2022 (“IT Amendment Rules, 2022”). The IT Amendment Rules 2022 aim at the regulation of social media intermediaries by increasing the burden of their compliance, and ensuring that the safe harbours provided to them are not abused. On the whole, the Rules aim at strengthening the protective framework for the “netizens’ interests” by prioritising their fundamental rights under Articles 14,19, and 21 of the Indian Constitution.

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The Telecommunications Reforms: A Step towards a Surveillance State (Part I)

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[This is the first part of a two-part post analyzing the Draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022. It is authored by Intisar Aslam, a second-year student at National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi. The second part can be found here]

Recently, the Ministry of Communications released the Draft  Indian Telecommunications Bill, 2022 (“Draft Bill”), which seeks to bring sweeping reforms in the telecom sector of the country. The significance of the Bill has increased manifold due to its expansive nature and character, which seeks to include social media platforms and OTT communication services within the ambit of ‘telecommunication services.’ The Draft Bill aims to make up for the changing dynamics and advances in technology and telecom regulatory framework by consolidating the present archaic telecom legislations, namely, the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885; the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1833; and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful) Possession Act, 1950. This article analyses the extensive powers granted to the government and its likelihood of misuse. It further argues how certain provisions are violative of the fundamental rights of individuals and lastly, the article discusses the unwarranted dissolution of powers of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

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The Internet and Marginalised Genders: A Comment in view of the Intermediary Guidelines, 2021

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[Varsha Singh is a fifth-year law student and contributing editor at robos of Tech Law and Policy, a platform for marginalized genders in the technology law and policy field. This essay is part of an ongoing collaboration between r – TLP and the NALSAR Tech Law Forum Blog and is the third post in the series. Previous entries can be found here.]

We live an increasingly online everyday life. Today, internet platforms are at the helm of conversations, dominating interactions and impacting relationships between social actors. These platforms’ power and control play a role in furthering fundamental values such as the right to communication and access to knowledge and information. Policies that govern this control, both at self-regulatory and state levels, should ensure the protection of such rights and freedoms while ensuring that users can reap these platforms’ benefits. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology recently published Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 to regulate intermediaries. While these guidelines adversely affect users’ rights and freedoms in general, the adverse effect is amplified manifold when it comes to marginalised genders, especially in light of India’s socio-political and cultural contexts.

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Regulation of Content on OTT Platforms: An Explainer

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[This Explainer has been authored by Harsh Jain and Sankalp Jain of the NALSAR Tech Law Forum Blog.]

The over-the-top (‘OTT’) industry in India has been growing exponentially–faster than anywhere else in the world–and pegged to reach a size of $5 billion by the year 2023. With an increase in internet penetration, coverage and speed, the consumption of content available on OTT streaming services is at an all-time high. This has not only increased the accessibility to titles old and new, but has also created a new avenue for content-creation on diverse themes. As the pandemic led to the closure of movie theatres and other forms of public entertainment, OTT platforms have been growing in India along with the rest of the world. 

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Metadata by TLF: Issue 19

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Welcome to our fortnightly newsletter, where our reporters Harsh Jain and Harshita Lilani put together handpicked stories from the world of tech law! You can find other issues here.

Facebook Oversight Board picks the first batch of cases for review, adds additional matter from India

Facebook’s Oversight Board (OSB), an independent body set up to review moderation decisions by the company, chose 6 cases to review in the first week of December, 2020 from over 20,000 cases that were referred to it following the opening of user appeals in October 20, 2018. Five of the cases being considered by the OSB were referred via user appeals while the sixth arose from a reference by Facebook. A couple of days after announcing the first batch of cases, the OSB added an additional case for consideration from India. It involves a photo posted on a Facebook group with Hindi text describing the drawing a sword from its scabbard in response to “infidels” criticizing the prophet. The photo also included a logo with the words “Indian Muslims” in English. The accompanying text, also in English, includes hashtags calling President Emmanuel Macron of France “the devil” and calling for the boycott of French products.

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Metadata by TLF: Issue 18

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Welcome to our fortnightly newsletter, where our reporters Harsh Jain and Harshita Lilani put together handpicked stories from the world of tech law! You can find other issues here.

Streaming platforms and online news portals brought under the purview of the I&B Ministry

The Cabinet Secretariat issued a notification on November 11, 2020 granting the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting authority over streaming platforms and online news portals. Simply put, this means that platforms such as Netflix, Hotstar, Amazon Prime, etc. will now be under the jurisdiction of the I&B Ministry. While the I&B Ministry cannot regulate these platforms without specific laws being passed towards that end, the notification signals the intent of the government to bring out a regulatory code in the near future. Such a move was expected after Amit Khare, the Secretary of the I&B Ministry, expressed the Ministry’s intent to bring content streamed over OTT platforms under its purview. The online content sector, unlike radio, cinema and television, has till now remained free of censorship. In August 2020, more than a dozen OTT platforms operating in India such as Netflix, Zee5, Voot, Jio, SonyLiv, etc. had signed a self-regulation code aimed at empowering consumers with tools to assist them in making informed choice with regard to viewing decisions for them and their families but the I&B Ministry had refused to support the same.

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