The nanny state is alive and well. Every now and then some bright spark in the government gets a brainwave about how best to keep an eye on its citizens and how to use technology towards that. Earlier it was about trying to read BlackBerry messages, which the company insisted was not possible because of its encyrption technology; now communications minister Kapil Sibal wants the social media and other tech companies to “clear” content before they go online. In short, someone will have a look at those embarrassing photos of you at last night’s party before they can be posted on Facebook.
Mr Sibal can protest till he’s blue in the face that this isn’t about innocuous material like that, but about stuff that can have harmful consequences in a diverse country like India. He is reported to have shown social media representatives examples of pages spewing out hate messages on religious groups and also about politicians, most notably Congress president Sonia Gandhi. And certainly no one in their senses wants such material floating around freely.
Try as he might, his explanation that this isn’t censorship is difficult to swallow. True, some really slanderous and obscene stuff does go online, and there are sites that preach hatred and violence. Sometimes social media commentary can be very objectionable. But Mr Sibal’s “solution” is far more problematic. First, there are robust laws that can deal with such issues. Investigative agencies have the power and the ability to track those who post really offensive matter. Second, often companies themselves take down sites and comments if someone complains. Most of all is the question of free speech. The Internet is a freewheeling, often anarchic space. Social media sites thrive because people can say what they want; deleting the post is an option that is always available. As for “disparaging” comments, this is a term that can be interpreted in many ways: if governments enter the picture, the chances are such interpretations will be very narrow. As it is, someone or the other is always expressing outrage and trying to get a book proscribed or a film banned. The online world allows much more freedom and it is absolutely vital to preserve that freedom.
Mr Sibal should think long and hard about this idea. At a time when the UPA is being pilloried on every front, he and his colleagues should be concentrating on improving governance rather than going after Facebook and Twitter users. By all means send out a message that the law will be hard on those who misuse the freedoms that the Internet offers; but checking content before it’s uploaded is simply not the way out. This silly proposal needs to be buried forever.