Blocking the Blogs : A Free Speech Analysis of the IT Amendment Act,

2008

apar guptaapar@accendolaw.com

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pictures in certain slides have been removed due to copyright concerns

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the printed and the electronic word

• Jaswant singh book banning picture

Banning a Book

• Sec. 95 of the CrPC– State Government is

empowered to forfeit certain publications

– Matter makes out offence under IPC

• 124A

• 153A

• 292

• 293

• 295A

Salman rushdie pic

Banning a Book

• Sec. 95 of the CrPC– Done through a notification

in the official gazette

– State the grounds of opinion

• Sec. 96 of the CrPC– Appeal to High Court

– Can be filed by any person having interest

– Can set aside the order under Sec. 95 of the CrPC

Salman rushdie pic

Blocking a Blog

• Sec. 69A– Central Government or any

authorized officer– Makes out reasonable

restriction under Art. 19(2)– Done through an order in

writing which directs– An agency or an

intermediary to block the website

– Safeguards through rules– Non-compliance entails

punishment on the intermediary for 7 years

Strengths

• Expansive– Center based – Goes beyond IPC

• Cyber Bullying• Private offences

• Single Point of Blocking

• Incorporates reasonable restrictions

• Makes the intermediary act

Sachin tendulkar pic

Weaknesses

• Expansive– Goes beyond IPC

• Sec. 66A – grossly offensive

• Sec. 66B – annoyance, inconvenience

• Orders not public

• No inherent right of appeal

Ashish nehra pic

Opportunities

• Much left to the rules

• Beyond 1984– Make orders public

– Provide reasons for block

– Make orders appealable

– Maintain list of blocked websites

• if censor then in a consistent manner

Virender sehwag pic

Threats

• Lost in the red tape– Shuffled between the

ministries– Orders are not public– Reasons are not provided

• No Public Right of Appeal

• Muzzling of Blogs and Web 2.0

• Chilling effect through Intermediaries

Hashim amla pic

Conclusion

• not about geeks

• easy but extraordinary

• make it public

• let the courts decide

thank you

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apar guptaapar@accendolaw.co

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