Twitter, Facebook and YouTube account holders faced with gov’t legal notices for inciting Assam violence

Government sends legal notices to account holder on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook who allegedly posted on their webpage inflammatory messages and morphed images related to ethnic violence in Assam.

Notices have been sent to “at least four” Twitter account holders, asking them to appear before a committee on 10 September at the office of the Computer Emergency Response Team. Details of other account holders have been asked for, to send notices.

Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert, said the government can take action against any person who has published, transmitted or caused to be published or transmitted any such content under various provisions of the IT Act.

“A criminal case could be registered under the IT Act as well as Indian Penal Code,” he said.

Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said:

Besides providing a pervasive infrastructure for discreet communication, cyberspace is proving to be a facilitator for malevolents seeking to enlist new recruits and to purvey a distorted version of the reality.

Anonymity that the user acquires in this medium can sometimes test the capacities of even the most experienced police investigator. Police forces will have to develop skills in this area not just for locating malicious content, but also for identifying those responsible for posting it. [Mint]

Comments

green lantern 7 Sept 2012, 18:45
+1 -0
that is like suing a paper company for supplying paper on which bad-things are written or burning a courtyard because violence happened there. more elegantly known in US as the betamax doctrine- as long as the primary use is not infringement it is ok.
IT Law 8 Sept 2012, 20:18
+4 -0
Duh! Govt should look into Section 79 of the Act!
anon 9 Sept 2012, 05:21
+0 -0
Duh! Section 79 grants immunity to the ISP but not to the user posting such inflammatory material.


I agree with the proposal of the Home Ministry. It is time that people realise that free speech and expression has some bounds and restrictions and cannot be enjoyed at the expense of the peace and harmony of the society especially in a country like India where the issue is so precarious.
IT Law 9 Sept 2012, 15:10
+3 -0
[quote name="anon"]Duh! Section 79 grants immunity to the ISP but not to the user posting such inflammatory material.


I agree with the proposal of the Home Ministry. It is time that people realise that free speech and expression has some bounds and restrictions and cannot be enjoyed at the expense of the peace and harmony of the society especially in a country like India where the issue is so precarious.[/quote]

Exactly my point! That is why the intermediary is not liable. If you may notice, notices have been sent to Intermediaries. FYI: Facebook is an intermediary under IT Act.

FYI 2: ISP is not an intermediary for this purpose. Read IT Act. Bharti Airtel is an ISP, not facebook. No one said ISP is liable.
saurabh 9 Sept 2012, 01:33
+1 -0
every tom, dick and harry will be pulled up and punished.

but as long as you punish the wrong guy, the violence will never stop.

has anyone of these jokers gone to the north east.

Do they seriously feel that the ones on twitter etc are the one who read the tweets and then go on a murderous rampage ?

There is a genuine problems the locals are facing, but the govt. won't answer that, because then it would effect their votes. precisely the reason for the violence in the first place.

you don't hit the nail on the head, you will keep hitting your hand. blaming the hammer won't help.