Hate news

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Context:

Chief Justice of India said certain sections of the media communalised everything and this would ultimately result in giving the country a bad name.

• SC is hearing petitions highlighting how some media outlets aired communal content linking the spread of the coronavirus to a Tablighi Jamaat meet held at Nizamuddin in Delhi.

Key points:

• The Chief Justice pointed to the lack of accountability on the part of social media platforms. The court asked the government whether there was any regulatory mechanism in place for the web.
• Government’s response:
  • It drew the court’s attention to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which provide a redressal mechanism and timely resolution of grievances of users of social media and over-the-top platforms. 
  • The government brought video streaming over-the-top (OTT) platforms under the ambit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
  • It also referred to the Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Rules of 2021.
  • The real challenge is the balance between the freedom of the press and the right of citizens to get unadulterated news.

Communal content in media

• The communalisation of news is partly because of decisions taken in some newsrooms and boardrooms to do so. 
  • But the risk is not merely reputational. The Tablighi Jamaat was demonised, and an attempt was made to manipulate the fears already stoked by a little known virus to deepen communal polarisation. 
  • The prime suspects were TV channels. But the state is part of the problem here, not the solution. 
  • Some sections of the media proudly fashion themselves as spokespersons of the state and allow themselves to be weaponized by it. 
• Contrary to the Centre’s defence of the new IT Rules, which attempts to draw a line between freedom of the press and the rights of the audience “who believe and act upon misleading news”.
  • The freedom of the press is an essential and inextricable part of the people’s right to know.

Challenges:

• Communal hate speech, even calling for genocide, have seen little action from the administration even when the identity of the perpetrator is known.
• The use of OTT platforms such as Whatsapp in the mobilisation of crowds, and in the circulation of dangerous speech. They are end to end encrypted and not ordinarily accessible to law enforcement, which has triggered a heavy handed approach from state governments.
  • The Supreme court had called for a “properly framed regime” to allow the government to get information about first originators of messages from “significant” social media intermediaries with end-to-end encryption technology like WhatsApp.
  • The IT Rules of 2021 mention this order of the Supreme Court as one of the reasons to justify their existence.
  • OTT (over-the-top) is a means of providing television and film content over the internet at the request and to suit the requirements of the individual consumer.
• India does not yet have a legal framework for data protection. Under new IT Rules 2021, significant social media intermediaries providing services primarily in the nature of messaging shall enable identification of the first originator of the information.
  • The government’s decision to access personal data without public consultations might end up having little effect on communal rumour-mongering and only serve to undermine the right to privacy under Article 21.
  • Right to free speech: Simply handing over personal data to the government without any checks would be against the right to free speech under Article 19(2) of the Constitution”.
• Issues with Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Rules, 2021: These rules create an “oversight mechanism” that gives the executive “unbridled and excessive powers to regulate the content of TV.

This problem will not go away, then, if only the state tightens a law, or sharpens a rule. The CJI’s anguish, however, could yet serve a larger purpose, by starting a wider conversation. One which acknowledges the problem in its complexities.

The Indian Express Link:

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/nv-ramana-tushar-mehta-tablighi-jamaat-7487704/

Question: Hate news poses complex challenges to freedom of speech and expression. Examine