Social media has a fake news problem, we’ve already established. That can range from the mildly annoying to the downright dangerous.
And now the Supreme Court of India is taking stock, instructing the Centre to build guidelines to prevent this menace.
A bench of justices, Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose, were hearing the matter on Tuesday, and expressed that social media has taken a “dangerous turn” in India. “I am thinking of giving up my smartphone and switching to a basic phone,” Justice Gupta, who is leading the bench, said.
Their main issue is there currently not being a way to trace the origin of a forwarded WhatsApp or Facebook post, to stop fake news perpetrators from getting away unpunished. The bench has now given the central government three weeks to design guidelines that will both prevent the technology’s misuse, as well as protect users’ privacy.
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Aside from policing violations, the SC also wants users who have been “trolled or defamed” on social media to have a redressal mechanism they can opt for before filing a criminal complaint.
The next hearing has been scheduled for October 22, by which time the central government has to have filed an affidavit to revise the laws surrounding social media
This decision comes even as the bench was dealing with transfer petitions for another case. That one was filed by social media companies looking to halt proceedings in a PIL from the Madras High Court, demanding a mechanism to trace fake news posters.
“Intermediaries cannot say that they don’t have the technology to deal with such misuse,” the bench said. “If you have a technology to spread it, you have a technology to check it The government must bring in a tighter regimen addressing all concerns.”
However, the SC does specify that these new laws shouldn’t make users beholden to authorities. “No one should have to just give such information because a police officer asks for it,” the court said. “I have a right to privacy,” said Justice Gupta.
“The State is powerful enough to protect its rights. But what happens if I am trolled or defamed? My reputation is destroyed? I must have a mechanism other than having to file a criminal case,” Justice Gupta added.
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