3 ms·
The temptation here to go on a tirade against a party or the government is way too overwhelming (it is a private criminal case), but I would urge everyone to ta
by codelust 15y ago
The temptation here to go on a tirade against a party or the government is way too overwhelming (it is a private criminal case), but I would urge everyone to take a different view of this. The laws and the legal system in India are ill-equipped and not adequately trained to understand the nuances of the digital world. I had a first-hand experience of this a few years ago at my last job when we were dragged into an investigation that was looking into defamatory comments posted against a particular individual.
We had to work with the cyber crime cell to help them find what they were looking for and found the officers to be well-meaning and nice people. The only downside was the training given to them, which was next to non-existent. We eventually wound up helping them out a lot and also worked with them to help them get a better understanding of the issue at hand. I actually felt quite bad for them. The office we went to had a handful of ancient PCs of which only one was connected to the internet - a far cry from anything that you'd expect.
The same thing applies to courts, judgements are often handed out without a good understanding of the digital world. A judge when shown awful content will almost every time order its removal, there is hardly anything surprising about it.
This certainly won't be the last word on this, but we have a long road ahead increasing awareness and training of both the legal system and enforcement. By the time we finally get there, there will be a lot of mistakes arising from totally unintended consequences, but I am confident that we'll eventually get it right.
- trapped123 15y agoThis is coming from the very highest levels of government. So your logic about ill-equipped offices or inadequate training does not apply to them. They are billionaires many time over. The minister who is the brain behind this legislation is one of highest paid lawyers in India so you can't assume that he is not able to comprehend the digital laws and their consequences. They are taking these measures to stifle the voice of middle class which is most vociferous against corruption. So your attempt to generate needless sympathy for them is unfortunately not grounded in reality.
- jk 15y agoSorry, but you are completely mistaken. India does not have any legislation about posts in social network. The news is about a court order to remove derogatory posts about religion. It is not about any individual. I guess you mixed up this news and an older report.
- codelust 15y agoI think you are mixing up the cases here. The Sibal affair was the one from the government. If you read the linked story you'll find two cases - one civil and another criminal - which are behind the directives by the courts. The government is not a party to either case. I don't have any sympathies for people who try to stifle the ability to express freely, but I also don't have any sympathies for misinformation and needless rabble rousing either. As part of my work, I do interact and advise members/organizations of the legal framework and, trust me, there are a lot of good intentions there, but sadly that alone is not good enough and we wind up with lousy outcomes. This is the reason why I look unfavourably on a purely black and white view of these things.