Social Media, Violence and the Law: 'Objectionable Material' and the Changing Countours of Hate Speech Regulation in India
With the advent of the internet and increasing circulation of hate speech, and material that has been linked to public order disturbances, there has been a shift in the legal discourse around hate speech. What has emerged, especially post the striking down of section 66A of the Information Technolog...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Linköping University Electronic Press
2019-02-01
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| Series: | Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/cu.2000.1525.2018103388 |
| _version_ | 1819163442423005184 |
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| author | Siddharth Narrain |
| author_facet | Siddharth Narrain |
| author_sort | Siddharth Narrain |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With the advent of the internet and increasing circulation of hate speech, and material that has been linked to public order disturbances, there has been a shift in the legal discourse around hate speech. What has emerged, especially post the striking down of section 66A of the Information Technology Act, are categories such as 'objectionable', 'provocative' content. The focus has shifted from the content itself, what it says, and the intention of the author, to being able to pre-empt the circulation of such material. Law is increasingly invoked to prevent speech (through prior restraint) rather than post facto investigation and prosecutions. This in turn has given rise to a range of institutional mechanisms such as monitoring labs that are now part of policing practice. Additionally, civil society organizations are now collaborating with police to help trigger mechanisms to take content off internet platforms. Increasingly it is through keywords and algorithmic searches that the category of hate speech has been defined rather than traditional legal doctrine. In the words of Lawrence Lessig, code plays the role of law, and the architecture of the internet becomes policy.
This paper will examine the issues outlined above relying heavily on a series of interviews with lawyers, policy analysts, journalists, academics, civil society activists, and police personnel conducted in Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Pune. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T17:44:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-279d8dc0ab8145bb946284190d6a1062 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2000-1525 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T17:44:12Z |
| publishDate | 2019-02-01 |
| publisher | Linköping University Electronic Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-279d8dc0ab8145bb946284190d6a10622022-12-21T18:18:20ZengLinköping University Electronic PressCulture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research2000-15252019-02-01103388-404388-40410.3384/cu.2000.1525.2018103388Social Media, Violence and the Law: 'Objectionable Material' and the Changing Countours of Hate Speech Regulation in IndiaSiddharth NarrainWith the advent of the internet and increasing circulation of hate speech, and material that has been linked to public order disturbances, there has been a shift in the legal discourse around hate speech. What has emerged, especially post the striking down of section 66A of the Information Technology Act, are categories such as 'objectionable', 'provocative' content. The focus has shifted from the content itself, what it says, and the intention of the author, to being able to pre-empt the circulation of such material. Law is increasingly invoked to prevent speech (through prior restraint) rather than post facto investigation and prosecutions. This in turn has given rise to a range of institutional mechanisms such as monitoring labs that are now part of policing practice. Additionally, civil society organizations are now collaborating with police to help trigger mechanisms to take content off internet platforms. Increasingly it is through keywords and algorithmic searches that the category of hate speech has been defined rather than traditional legal doctrine. In the words of Lawrence Lessig, code plays the role of law, and the architecture of the internet becomes policy. This paper will examine the issues outlined above relying heavily on a series of interviews with lawyers, policy analysts, journalists, academics, civil society activists, and police personnel conducted in Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Pune.http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/cu.2000.1525.2018103388hate speechpublic orderobjectionable contentsocial mediapolicingInternet intermediariesfree speechreasonable restrictions |
| spellingShingle | Siddharth Narrain Social Media, Violence and the Law: 'Objectionable Material' and the Changing Countours of Hate Speech Regulation in India Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research hate speech public order objectionable content social media policing Internet intermediaries free speech reasonable restrictions |
| title | Social Media, Violence and the Law: 'Objectionable Material' and the Changing Countours of Hate Speech Regulation in India |
| title_full | Social Media, Violence and the Law: 'Objectionable Material' and the Changing Countours of Hate Speech Regulation in India |
| title_fullStr | Social Media, Violence and the Law: 'Objectionable Material' and the Changing Countours of Hate Speech Regulation in India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social Media, Violence and the Law: 'Objectionable Material' and the Changing Countours of Hate Speech Regulation in India |
| title_short | Social Media, Violence and the Law: 'Objectionable Material' and the Changing Countours of Hate Speech Regulation in India |
| title_sort | social media violence and the law objectionable material and the changing countours of hate speech regulation in india |
| topic | hate speech public order objectionable content social media policing Internet intermediaries free speech reasonable restrictions |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/cu.2000.1525.2018103388 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT siddharthnarrain socialmediaviolenceandthelawobjectionablematerialandthechangingcountoursofhatespeechregulationinindia |