No plan to regulate social networking sites, says Pilot

I support Mr sibal because many teenagers get spoiled due to bad contact through facebook.

Very sad to see Congress trying to stifle democracy, and basic rights of the people. Sure they are corrupt to the core, terrible at governance and running a country and its economy; now the unfortunate citizens of India will have to let go of the right to speech….. The right to speech against the very corrupt - misgovernance of the Congress government.

I am reminded of a a quote by the Hon'ble Justice Thurgood Marshall of the US Supreme Court - "if the First Amendment means anything, it means that a state has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his own house, what books he may read,what books he may watch" .
The right to freedom of speech allows individuals to express themselves without interference or constraint by the government. It is absolutely critical that the the government provide substantial justification for the interference with the right of free speech where it attempts to regulate the content of the speech. Mr Sibal & Company, are you listening??

Sir.
Any freedom which is not exercised with responsibility should be controlled as we control the desire of a teenager to drive at great speed risking his life and life of others by putting speed limits. To think that only physical harm is the harm that needs to be controlled and emotional harm is no harm and it can be overlooked is a insensible argument. On the contrary physical harm by a speeding driver is limited whereas the emotional harm by irresponsible use of freedom of speech is disastrous. What we are seeing in the world today is the cumulative effect of it over the past hundreds of years. It is unfortunate that some of the so called intellectuals fail to understand this and are willing to add more to the chaotic world. Irresponsible freedom of the capital has destroyed the world economies and irresponsible freedom of speech is destroying the world peace.

we the people of India hate your hate speeches, please block your speeches first. if not people will block you they know where to block you. Mr Sibal, dont think everything is going to be fine for your corrup politics, Harvinder's is only a first step, if you try to push people down, you going to face lot of Harvinders in near future.

He is becoming the most hated man in India. Manipulating the governance with all kinds of laws and procedures. Not the crooked lawyers, good politicians loyal to the people with vision needs to rule the country

We all will fight for freedom of speech until it attacks our own self! Then will it become a bitter pill to swallow. Internet literally allows anyone from anywhere to publish hate material with pure impunity against a government, community or religion or caste etc. Law of the land should prevail and it cannot be subverted by someone outside the country. It is like you try to establish discipline in your home, which you will not allow to be violated by outsiders.

When I looked up for legal definition of hate speech, this is what I get: 'Hate speech is a communication that carries no meaning other than the expression of hatred for some group, especially in circumstances in which the communication is likely to provoke violence. It is an incitement to hatred primarily against a group of persons defined in terms of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and the like. Hate speech can be any form of expression regarded as offensive to racial, ethnic & religious groups and other discrete minorities or to women'. Can Mr. Sibal be kind enough to clarify the Indian public regarding the hate speech is he talking about. I believe criticizing his political bosses and caricatures of public personalities doesn't amount to HATE SPEECH. Mr. Sibal please improve your tolerance level & sense of humor. You will have to live with this as a politician in democracy. Have a laugh, when offensive request sites to remove content. SIMPLE

Self-distructing tendency in the Congress party is becoming sharper by the day. It is not that one is unhappy about that situation.

I doubt if Mr.Sibal knows how to use Facebook or other social networking sites and has ever experienced the value they have added to communication. Anyway, as citizens we have no voice - the newspapers, television channels and other media have their hands tied down. Why should we not share our thoughts at least on social networking sites? Mr. Sibal, try opening an account and then connecting with your old friends...this will do you more good.

Information is knowledge and web is the medium through which it finds its expression and when it empowers the common man through connectivity and interaction cutting across boundaries then this interoperable communication becomes power.Apart from many self regulating things the networking sites are also using the help of law enforcement mechanisms to protect the privacy of the users. The minister is mainly concerned about two powerful individuals of the ruling party, one with a great intellect but incapable of gauging the emotions of people or understand the problems stifling his governance while the other lacking plural connect loves to rule without responsibility and it is precisely because of this we are seeing the country's resources being abused,taxpayers money looted the exchequer depleted and corrupt state satrups and their families squandering their way to nauseating heights. The people are learning to use the net to effect changes in society and in themselves.

It is funny that Congress says the Lokpal cannot monitor the lower bureaucracy because of its size, but they think they can monitor each and every Facebook user. Ridiculous!

in one way he is correct because of religious sentiments and other thing is, he will have control over every social network site which is very bad for freedom of speech the only way to stop this religious fight on internet is to educate his own country man means us this minister is ready to pre-screen every thing but not doing his actual work which is to improve the quality to education of india if you will go and see government school which are in so bad shape pre-screen is just diver gen and hunger of control ... free education is available for every one but it will costs children's there future....

Social media has been in India for quite some time now . So why NOW the urgency to curb / regulate or screen Social media ? Why is the Govt feeling suddenly threatened ? The sheer timing of this move by the UPA Govt gives away the hidden agenda -to curb the voice of growing dissent in India against this corrupt Govt that is not going to bring about a strong Lokpal bill , nor act against black money .With just 2 years for the next election , this is also a move to curb UPAs biggest threat -the spread of Anna Hazares movement . The HINDU just reported in an article published on 6th dec , that even resources such as IB is being used for political espionage– again evidence of national &Govt resources being (mis)used to ensure only re-election rather than for national security .

Our democracy is in danger. Government has announced what is plainly a censorship. The congress leaders that have been assembled to sell this censorship to the people are those who are perceived to be close to the Establishment. Rewind to Indira Gandhi’s days when the emergency was announced. A similar era is likely to open out now, it looks. So far, we have been telling while making comparisons with China that we have freedom even if we had made a slower progress. Now, with the current censorship, we cannot say that even. Congress had covered itself with discredit by mortgaging the party totally to a dynasty. Now it has done even worse –ordering people that they cannot make comments about their leader. We are worse than totalitarian China and >Stalinist USSR.

How can social network stop hate mail?Area of social net work is tremendously vast how monitor of Facebook checked each and every posting on wall.?Till I think Facebook gave instruction to his clients to delete particular post.How can they take action without consent of commenter?

It is extremely saddening and disappointing to see the way Freedom of Speech, Development, Growth, Progress of Country is being hindered by Autocratic, Corrupt, Arrogant Government. Hats off to the near-future dystopian society UPA Government is trying to create. Under the garb of 'Hate Speech' they are trying to curb the spread of Anna Hazare's movement as Internet (social networking websites) was one of the strong and effective tool of campaigning.

Zero loss to ex-chequer in 2G scam ! Who said it ? Kapil Sibal. SANCTITY OF PARLIAMENT as the only empowered law making authority must be maintained ! Who said it ? Kapil Sibal. Social media must be screened /censored ? Who said it ? Same Mr Kapil Sibal.
Why this same Kapil Sibal is not asking: 1)Can 162 MPs (29.83 %)with criminal charges and 76 (14.00 %) MPs with serious criminal charges (Statistics courtesy ADR website)be among the exclusive law making authority for the country ???? 2)Since parliament is sacred institution in a democracy , can crime tainted persons be part of such institution & empowered to make laws for the country ? Also Mr Sibal , why this timing for censoring social media?? Its been around in India for years already and did no harm .

I dont think this is going to work Mr.Sibal !!! This is not China, it is India. Jai Hind

The regulations are necessary till they don't restrict the freedom of Expression.Mr Sibal is right when he say blasphemous,communal material should be censored to avoid violence an incendiary results. I wish censorship don't prevails on the freedom to discuss and speak publicly

Thanks to the internet we can protect ourselves from unscrupulous types especially by sycophants and yes men of the government who pose as experts in this or experts in that and brainwash the public about the reliability and safety of dangerous projects that can ruin our country. The Government may be watching us through the internet and through our conversations on mobile or other electronic media, but by the same token WE ARE ALSO WATCHING THE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS through the electronic media. If UPA tries to strangle the net, they'll be out of Power before they even know it! Allowing all sorts of degradation of women in Indian movies and ads and then making a BIG RACKET about defamation of diplomatically immunized government leaders is somewhat quite RIDICULOUS! We all know there is a lot of misinformation in every sector. People believe what they want to. Sibal better face it.
Google is as essential to our growth as BREAD AND BUTTER. If Govt bans Google Govt's the one's to lose.

Hate speech? Kapil should first tell people like Digvijay Singh,etc not to make personal and demeaning comments against others spreading hatred and disgust. Calling Mr.Ramdev a thug and Anna Hazare corrupt,etc -- doesn't all that amount to hate speech? If you want to express your angst against someone, it must be principled and not personal and when MPs and spokespersons of the ruling party are indulging in personal remarks against their opponents, how is it wrong if some youth put up some morphed images of their leaders and express their angst?

Free speech comes with reasonable restriction & it cannot be absolute. If in the name of free speech someone use to defamatory language,obscene words it becomes the essential duty of the Govt. to curb down such practice.Kapil Sibal's point may look to biased to those who have used social network to propogate their views but it has far reaching consequence in the nation's growth.PCI Chairman's views on reasonable restrictions on electronic media must be seen in addition to this.The social context in which we abode is responsible for beliefs & opinions we carry with ourselves. These may or may not be wrong.However in the nation's interest the wrong should not form the part of society.If somebody starts justifying the need of attacking Pakistan full fledgely with Nuclear weapons & use the social network to criticize the government inability & criticism of defence forces then it must be dealt strictly as social network are boundaryless & rumours in other side has destructive consequences.

There was an intelligent person in India, Kabeer. He always wished to be near the critics. Because he realized that critics clean us without using soap and water.He himself was a perfect devoted critic.And I always feel he was enlightened person.
Nindak neare rakhiye angan kuti chhaway!
Bin pani sabun bina NIRMAL kare subhay!!
(Translation:Keep your critiques close to you, let their hut be in your courtyard; That way you don’t need soap n water to cleanse your nature) All the wise rulers in the past ensured this ans made the History!

Government of India since its independence has used secrecy as a tool to rule people of this country. Now because of electronic communication, people can spread the information to each other in a very effective n faster way.The major success of anti-corruption movement by Mr Hajare goes to faster and ease of communication.Why govt is so afraid of social website? Just because it has revealed facts about their leaders? Its an attempt to take India to stone age in line with countries like Afganistan

You can shut people's mouth but you can never shut their minds. I think the time has come for us to start a revolution, let Mr. Sibal block contents on the internet but he cannot block our anger even with the mightiest force he might think of, its enough of this congress Government, the time has come, the time has come.. now there will be million Annas..

"Hate Speech must be blocked" there is no harm in the statement. There should be some limit in the freedom of speech, if it exceeds, things will be disaster. mr.sibal has emphasising the freedom speech should not hurt an individual or sections of community. Nowadays the media people taking custody of freedom of speech in repect of their commercial prosperity.

While Mr Sibal may not like the social media since it exposed the Indian government's misgovernance, he must understand that but for the internet & the social networking sites, the world would not have known the plight of the people in Iran, Egypt & Libya under undemocratic governments. Just because of his party leaders are painted black or grey, he cannot try to shut up the voices/opinions of the public. Instead of curbing the freedom of speech, Mr Sibal must ponder over the fact that why majority of his countrymen feel that corruption is at its zenith under the present Government headed by Dr MMS & his party led by Ms Gandhi? The more Mr Sibal and the like try to silence critics, the public will become more vocal in their 'hatred' towards Dr MMS & Ms Gandhi. Though he has also talked about religious sentiments, that is only to suit his convenience so that he can target critics of the Gandhis/MMS. Is all this a prelude to introduce press censorship and then another emergency?

Looks like this is the beginning of the end for INC. The supposedly wise minister can't be any more foolish and immature. Any web forum is like a conversation between like minded individuals and it depends on their maturity levels as to how they talk and behave in that forum. Even there are people on streets who get abusive and insensitive when they talk, it is not the business of the state to stoop to their levels and try to shut them up.Moreover there are enough existing mechanisms through provisions in these fora and through legislation, that any such extreme behavious can be checked. Any attempt to bring such censor is to undermine the freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution.
I am sure Mr. Sibbal has much more important matters to look in to than to police upon people indulging in blasphemous talk or abusing the first family.Hope sanity prevails and we would not follow the path of China or Pakistan.

If it were a genuine concern for the image of any person, there is a lot more to do than just blocking facebook content or censoring the media. But if its only to score a loyalty points, your concern has been noted and the points will be awarded accordingly. Either way, you can stand down Mr Sibal!

Power drunk politicians everywhere not only want to enjoy the power glory and money but also want to remain as the 'untouchables'!!! Indian politicians seem to be no different. The politically aware and democratic Indians would not let go of the freedom of expression they had hard fought and got at the independence! I am confident of it. The power is with the people and don't let anyone take it away from them!

A lot of years as education minister has had effects on Mr. Kapil Sibbal. i guess. He is into slow transformation into principal of the country . China you got a friend ...

When revolution is happening in the middle east for expression of ideas,freedom.. Mr sibal is trying to make india like iran..

What's hate speech?? Is that something pointing towards a corrupt politician? Is that something pointing towards wrong agenda of a government? So many other countries are blocking social network site contents, so we? What's your point...India will no more a democratic country... :(. I cant see LIKE button here, perhaps I would have hit like for so many comments. :)

I wonder waht makes Mr. Sibal believe that there is a problem and a need for restrictions on online content. How many communal riots in India have been started inflammed by some material on web? How many hate speeches over web have ignited voilence or mobilisation? On the contrary web and especially online social networking sites have proved to be a powerful tool in the hands of people who spread organisational messages on India Against corruption and similar social issues in past. In case there is a problem deal with it as any other law and order problem, freedome of speech and expression enshrined in Articles 19-22 of Indian constitution is vital for Indian democracy. As a matter of fact Mr. Sibal is just trying to prove his loyalty to the Gandhi family and the government is once gainst trying to divert the attention from more burning issues of the day to unasked for and unnecessary issues.

it is very clear from the above comments that people are very much aware that the corrupted politicians want to filter the contents which clarifies their guilt.

i think readers here don't know the kind of abuse that exists online, i have seen pictures of dead animals which portray how Muslims treat cows, stating that the pictures are from an Indian city; there are groups on social networking who only project misdemeanors by certain sections of society,comments on all international websites are moderated but not on many websites with indian content. If you speak of peace,harmony on rediff .com you will be called a terrorist or traitor....no where does our fundamental right to free speech allow incendiary speech...you guys should visit and read comments posted online, you will be shocked..

Does putting content filter on social networking sites does not violet Fundamental right of freedom of speech? Are we going China way?

Shoot the messenger rather than the message. In these days of fast communication, this wont work.

With the 2G scam and the FDI imbroglio, the government needs a diversionary element that will keep the opposition and the people occupied so that the real issues will be steamrolled through in the Parliament without any debate. That's why Kapil Sibal has taken up this 'censorship' of social media despite knowing that it will not work and is not feasible. Lets get on with our work and give very little credence to these time wasters from the powers-that-be

Violating the fundamental rights of the people, the real background of this ruling elite. It is an indication that they are preparing to pass draconian laws against the citizens, instead of passing Janlokpal Bill. This campaign by the criminal nexus of the political corruption and nepotism will lead to unheard of despotism in India. We have to prepare to exercise our right sooner to recall these elected representatives who are hell bent to exploit every trick to fool people and prolong their corrupt regime infinitely. That is what is behind this new cyber law of Sibal and his like.

These people just want to interfere in the freedom of expression. It’s natural that people will respond to the worst policy decisions. In a democratic country, the government is expected to hear the feelings of the citizen. The mandate is not a blanket permission for them to loot the country.

Its time we grow up as a democracy. If we don't like what someone else has to say, I say don't listen to them. By blocking or censoring material that some consider offensive, we are doubting the intellect of the majority. I do say everyone has the freedom of expression and everybody must tolerate the others opinion, irrespective religion, caste, creed or racial bias of the opinion.
I do believe, this is a tactic used to deflect public attention from the real issues at hand, especially the fact that our parliament hasn't functioned for the most of this session,that people have concerns over FDI in retail, concerns over Lokpal Bill etc.

It is obvious to anyone in India as to why Kapil Sibal is suddenly so
concerned about some 'objectionable' contents of internet.He should be
reminded that Indira Gandhi's days are over and the Congress party
does not have the means to amend the Constituent to protect its
leaders. He should know that all sorts of 'garbage' are found in
social networking portals and any sensitive/sensible person will
filter out what is 'offensive and objectionable' to him/her.No one has
heard of any community getting instigated as a result of some
irresponsible postings by miscreants.At worst there may have been some
posting of equally stupid and silly rebuttals. It is high time,Kapil
Sibal shows some maturity.His subservience to certain family should
not make him lose his sense of balance to come out with illogical
conclusions.Remaining quiet will be a more sensible.

Quality of expressions in the cyber media is also a sign of culture. We can agree to disagree on views in a balanced way, no issues on that. Social media gives freedom of expression to the e-literate. However, it is not uncommon to see low level, base and indecent remarks and pics to reflect feelings. That is objectionable. Sibal perhaps has raised this point. The very young can get carried thinking anything is acceptable in society. Maybe the sites have a role to review some standards, they can examine themselves. For instance in front of an apartment complex, no one would tolerate hooliganism, despite the freedom of speech/expression to the individual who's doing it. Freedom of speech and expressions should not be misused. Give vent to feelings in a civilised manner. Virtue should not be compromised nor perversion glorified.

Mr Sibal is going overboard by trying to impose a blanket ban on the global internet services by asking them to block some contents from
the sites they operate especially hate speeches.This dictatorial attitude and behavior of an irresponsible union minister is not only reprehensible but despicable,condemnable and contemptible.He is worse than Idi Amin.Let him first publish the list of indian politicians and ministers/VIPs and other Indian Nationals who are holding black money accounts abroad.Does he think that he can behave like a tyrant
ruling a Banana Republic.It is for the purpose of teaching such loud-
mouths a strong lesson that the people demand the RIGHT OF RECALL.

Freedom of speech cannot be repressed, If Sibal wants to spread a positive message, Fix the economy!

In simple sentence he should stop speaking...His speech hated by most of the Indian.

ha! may be next he will forbid hate conversations and such abusive words . no one will be allowed to abuse anyone. cameras will be installed in each corner of the world and anyone saying any hateful word will be prosecuted with the only exception of speech "within the parliament house". hahahahaahaha!

While it is a good move to restrain media from publishing anything
derogatory in the name of freedom of press, the trigger for action
appears to be the remarks made against PM and Ms Sonia Gandhi.
Protecting only the dignity of Congress elites is not in good taste
and not acceptable. The rest of the countrymen have also dignity. The
restraint should be from publishing anything derogatory to individuals
or communities and which destroy social harmony/national integration.
If the print media can edit opinions in their coloumns, there is no
reason why their electronic editions and the social networking sites
can't. Volume no doubt would suffer and there would be delay, but the
comments would be purposeful and more readable. Even now some
newspapers do edit the contents of comments in their electronic
editions, as The Hindu does and one can see the qualitative difference
in the contents.

Mr. Sibal did not take any action when the late Hussain's paintings were blatantly provocative and denigrated the Hindu faith. The vitriol that Hussain unleashed if directed against any other religion would have been enough for a fatwa or religious injunction against him. Could any person have been disrespectful to the Sikh Gurus? There is no national security involved in the comments in social media, for curtailment. Humans are discerning and are capable of winnowing wheat from chaff. Not everything that the social media conveys is believed by everyone, the same way as not everyone believes the government as a body and politicians as a class! Censorship in any form is a government that is running scared; there is no smoke without a fire! Rumors are more dangerous than openly expressed facts or non-facts! "Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing the ground. - Frederick Douglass, abolitionist, editor and orator (1817-1895).

Very very bad for him to proclaim such silly rules when the world is
embracing social media for so many productive purposes. How can he even
make such official announcements! What are politicians scared of the
most - More people knowing the truth??

We need a huge shake up of this little piece of geographic boundaries we've created and are calling India. Free speech with no restrictions!. If the hindu right wants to say the most vile things about minorities, we should let them!. If muslims with medieval ideology want to vilify hinduism, we should let them. After a few thousands die, we'll eventually learn that those are just words, and we should think for ourselves.

I think most of us over reacted to Mr. Sibal's comments. There is no mention by him, or any other person, of restricting freedom of expression. I, personally, do not see anything wrong if people are asked to be a little more careful and sensible on the internet. It is a powerful medium to carry the word of the masses. But it must not become a tool to insult or embarrass anyone. If you have a point to make, a complaint to register or simply want to hit out at a politician, it can be done in a civilized manner. There is no need to be vulgar.

It is people's choice on what information to share as long as it is legal and it is not harmful. Being a cabinet minister for communications Mr. Kapil Sibal should be the last one to come out with such statements. Sad but reality. It is the sorry state of leadership in India. The root cause of this problem is lack of active participation from Indian population in current affairs. Its of shame that all we can do in situations like these is make comments online but not much outside of it.

It will be a good steps. Indian new generation are too much effected by ultramodern culture. They need to learn how to react. After going through the comment section of any Indian news paper one can realize that how much communal minded and uncivilized generation is growing. They have defamed the term 'freedom of expression'. As these kinds of people are mostly well educated and either belong to Indian metro city or settled in USA, they think they can bring a revolution by posting a disturbing photo of our honorable prime minister or exchanging extremely hatred comments among religions. Our illiterate poor Indian at least don't behave like this. Their must be some rule. Go ahead Mr. Sibal, don't listen to Pseudo-patriotic, you have to protect the majority of Indian society.

In a civil society there are certain ways of behavior which must be practiced, and expressing your views is one thing, while posting illicit material is other. The boundary line needs to be well-defined. Considering that internet is being used by all ages, I consider this a very bold move to filter the content in social networking sites. I would like to take a different stand on this. Every nation has it's chunk of anti-social elements and internet serves as an "easy" tool for spreading their gibberish. This will be no hindrance to our free thoughts, we are in a democracy. Culturally, every nation is different and their respective government can dictate rules to prevent this slow cultural sabotage from social networking sites.

Mr. Sibal is a wily lawyer and he is the architect of diluting the effectiveness of the LOKPAL bill. He has got other ideas promoted by the ruling party to get hold of the freedom of this country as was done by Indira Gandhi for imposing emergency on the unsuspecting nation. In the current situation in the country where corrupt are being exposed by the day in various scams the ruling party is gearing to protect itself by preparing ground for another emergency because they are in a minority and control of internet is afirst step.We should be vigilant and frustrate Sibals' designs. He is really wily.

Strangely, I tend to agree with Mr. Sibal for once. I have seen anti Indian, anti- everything arguments, imagery etc being used by an ever alert, non-sleeping enemy in orkut, fb etc etc. Allowing this to spread in the name of free speech is to defeat free speech. However, non-hatred ideas, however non-conformist they might be, should not be controlled.

To the editor of Hindu, this is a wake-up call to you as well. Tomorrow the cartoons you portray of politicians may become controversial if a law blocking 'offensive' content is enacted or if we go Mr. Sibal's way. Please read the Hustler Magazine vs Jerry Falwell judgement given by the US Supreme Court. This is a classic case of how Freedom of Speech (The First Amendment) was upheld and over-rode everything else. Actual notes from the judgment (source Wikipedia) - "At the heart of the First Amendment is the recognition of the fundamental importance of the free flow of ideas and opinions on matters of public interest and concern. The freedom to speak one's mind is not only an aspect of individual liberty – and thus a good unto itself – but also is essential to the common quest for truth and the vitality of society as a whole. We have therefore been particularly vigilant to ensure that individual expressions of ideas remain free from governmentally imposed sanctions." Protest or Close

Hate speech/writing should be blocked to promote peaceful living and co-existence. Humanity has right to be not offended by evil forces.

Right to speech is one of the fundamental rights we have.Its every individuals right to express ones views. if some one has showed something defamatory against some one ( now whether he/she is a celebrity or not) its not viable and correct to ban whole medium of expression. and its ridiculous !!! . Rather u have to find ways to mitigate it through other means. We should not forget that, social websites have revolutionized many countries and lead them to the path of democracy from autocracy.

It is extremely saddening and disappointing to see the way Freedom of Speech, Development, Growth, Progress of country is being hindered by Autocratic, Corrupt, Arrogant Government. Hats off to the near-future dystopian society UPA Government is trying to create. Under the garb of 'Hate Speech' they are trying to curb the spread of Anna Hazare's movement as Internet (social networking websites) was one of their strong and effective tool of campaigning.

One of the good decision by the present government. As a regular social networking site user, I come across a number of posts which is inflammatory, objectionable to some religion. Here all the people are saying that it'll violate our freedom of speech, but the same people forget that each and every right comes with some duty. So, while posting its one's duty to check whether, it'll have adverse impact on others. And, if one is not adhered to his duty, then government should take action, and this is same Govt. is doing. Go Ahead Kapil Sibbal.

It is hard to dismiss if Kapil Sibal's words do not remind us of those days of Emergency in a way!

Kapil Sibal, as a Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, has to voice periodically some ideas which sound big bang. India is not china or middle east to accent and pronounce India’s discount with Facebook, Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft. He summoned them for a meeting that only to generate political controversy in addition to the existing FDI storm in parliament. But Sibal by heart is free speech advocate. Compulsions from whatever corner he is moving in the direction that he hopes can defend his government.

If hate speech was the big issue, why is it that more than 70% of removal requests the Indian government made to Google was for 'government criticism' during January to June 2011? Hate speech figures in only 2% of all requests. The government is just using hate speech as an excuse to curtail public dissent. Source: Google Transparency Report.

I completely agree with Mr. Sibbal that no reasonable person would like to see content of the nature he is talking about in public domain. But government should ponder over why this sort of content is being placed by internet users in public domain through internet. In my opinion image of political leaders, especially of few from the ruling party has been deteriorated extremely in the society. So the action of placing this nature of content on social networking sites is a sort of aversion or anger coming out of those elements of the society, who are extremely frustrated because of political scenario prevailing in the country. So along with placing such curbing measures on social networking sites, government should do some introspection exercise and its leaders should take some corrective steps which can improve their image in general public.

When the:\"strong"Lok Ayukta Bill is to be presented in the Parliament, the jittery UPA givt. is finding various means to defer or keep off the Bill till the winter sesion is over. It is for this that the FDI fiasco,the Sibal internet saga and Singhvi's bravado of presenting the Lok Ayukta bill any time - these are all diversionary tactics to put the blame on the Opposition - to save face and gain time to escape possible embarassment.

So now the Government wants to gag us, under the guise of "objectionable content"? Well this is akin to abuse of power. Agreed, we live in a pluralistic society, that freedom of expression should not involve spreading hate. That said, what is objectionable? Why should the government judge that? This is nothing but the government choosing to be prosecutor, judge and jury - reminds me of the days of emergency, when censorship was imposed. Let Kapil Sibal prove beyond reasonable doubt, that "objectionable" matter on Facebook or Google spread hate, caused loss of life and property in India. Else, he could find work in a authoritarian regime like China or Cuba. That would be easier to do.

Not acceptable!! This a an axe on the very pillars of Indian democracy. We want freedom of speech and expression. This is as a result of Anna's anti corruption campaign on FB. I as a sensible Indian citizen defy this INC autocracy and dictatorial behavior. This is not acceptable!!

Not acceptable!! This a an axe on the very pillars of Indian democracy.
We want freedom of speech and expression. This is as a result of Anna's
anti corruption campaign on FB.

I as a sensible Indian citizen defy this INC autocracy and doctatorial behavior. This is not acceptable!!

Nobody is going to lose sleep over a teenager posting something on
facebook about you (Unless you are a teenager too). If there is
incorrect, slanderous information against a person in public forums
then the victim can take legal recourse and get that content removed
from there . Most forums already have this option .

This law is nothing but a blatant violation of our fundamental right
to freedom of speech. If we let this bill pass then any information
against the ruling party can be censored. Combine this with the
already slack rules for "information gathering" ( read spying ) and we
take one more step close to becoming China.

Internet is a free medium where anyone and everyone can express their
opinion. And you bet that there will be some content that you do not
agree with. But, the person who posted that is simply expressing his
freedom of speech. Do not mess with that.

What saddens me the most is not that Mr. Sibal has called for a kind of self-regulation of the social media but the absurd debate on whether our freedom of speech and expression is going to be compromised, whether this is a kind of gag on the internet resembling the model as it is in China or North Korea. If someone thinks that he or she has a constitutional right to spread blasphemous contents on the web thereby inciting religious violence then I must say that their right should be curbed. I find nothing wrong in Mr. Sibal's assertions that internet contents must be regulated but if it is to gradually pave the way for censorship then we must protest unitedly. Right now I don't think we should get so worried right away.

Mr. Kapil Sibal should sort out his priorities, there are other pressing issues that need to be addressed.

Mr. Kapil Sibal and the government, should be wise enough and realize that only a very small portion of the country uses internet; and a large portion doesn't even have access to a broad band connection.

Internet especially social networking has revolutionised the way we communicate and exchange ideas.Freedom of expression is the hallmark of this medium, which has been an effective tool in the empowerment of the the masses as seen from the events in west asia and the maghreb and also the Anna movement.
Any attempt to regulate the content is a indeed step backward , depriving the people of an effective medium of expression and unfettered promulgation of ideas

I am sorry to say that Kapil Sibal is totally out of line on this. He or
anyone in the government has no business in regulating my speech. How
dare he?

What precisely is the nature of this "objectionable content"? Images
of cows being slaughtered, or of pigs being eaten? Pictorial
representations of Allah (again)? Chappals with the image of Ganesha
on the heel?

Censorship on social networking sites, apart from being notoriously
difficult to implement, as is the case with the Internet at large,
also flirts dangerously with becoming an infraction on the right to
free speech, as Minister Sibal is no doubt aware. It would be helpful
to know what precisely he would like to see censored.

that means Congress want to filter all messgaes that common man want to express against the corruption going on in government... And the support people giving to Anna movement.

Mr. Sibal, as a lawyer you must have heard of freedom of speech.

While such contents in Face Bokk etc should be condemned wholeheasrtedly Mr. Kapil Sibel shoud understand that DMK leader
is also indulging in propagating hatred against Hinduism its practice in the name of rationalism .His repeated veiled attack against Brahmins should also be condemned If BJP is communal what else is DMK?

Someone need to teach the idea of " freedom of expression " to this government officials or at least they need to know the pillars at which cyberspace world evolved and how it works.No government has authority to dictate what should or should not be the content of the internet world, but they can always block the sites from the wires they hold.Current activities of this government clearly shows the erosion of democratic values and its intention to sabotage freedom of expression envisioned in our constitution.This happens when the regime is afraid of its hold weakens over its population or to hide its nefarious activities.No strong democratic nation ever afraid of the paradigm - freedom of expression, but uphold it dearly to its chest. I wish the government should made public why it is so afraid of facebook or google websites, are they afraid of the reach and impact of anti-corruption crusaders of the web? The fact is the goodness of web can be tapped to enrich the democracy of India.

Yes, such offensive, irrational contents should be condemned and removed
if required on subjective basis. But at the same time I hope Government
will make sure that the freedom of expression will not get suppressed by
such stringent mechanism.

Mr Sibal is worried about the comments and videos posted in the Social Networking but he is not worried about the increasing number of students writing competitive exams and struggling for a single seat in a quality institute even though they worked hard during the whole year, this is because of the few number of seats in the quality institute and the large number of people who are equally talented, just a difference of .25 marks or so spoils all the harships faced by a person during his prepration. Rather than monitoring the social networking sites I would request to Mr Sibal to try and increase the seats in the Quality institutes and open up new good institutes where the Education quality is equally well. Needless to say India is having a blast with emerging private institute but the ins are just set up to give degrees to the student the education quality is worst there.
Please consider this request for a better India.

I think Kapil Sibal has been through " I hate Kapil Sibal" or "I hate
Rahul Gandhi" community on these websites... He may not be able to
digest the fact that these communities are getting much greater
attention ...and it is increasing exponentially..... This nitwit
thinks that he is the smartest person in the government and can do
whatever he wants to do .. Social Media is one of the major reason for
exposure of these goons... As such there should be no regulation as
these are the comments of the people and not any organisation in
itself...Shame on him , again these people are trying to get through
using religion as the argument....

every one has write to express his vieus whether its about any religion or any other think.
this statement showes congrase party's intention to senser every think.
congrase always supports muslim fundamentlist people because they are there vote bank. like in shah banu case congrase supported muslim fundamentlist peoples. and also they supported avzal guru(a tararist) just for minority votebank.
if they are Really well wishers of minorities then why after 60 years of there rool littresy rate in Muslims lowest among all communities.

yeah.If these social networking does not stop offensive comments and
related posts its going to be the main reason for causing a severe
problem in the society later.

Mr. Sibal, I hope you are reading this: Shame on you !

Regulating content developed people/general public is no different from suppresing freedom of expression. When there are provision provided by google or facebook to report abusive content, it is upto the user to decide and report. Government should not interfer in this matter. Moreover there are advanced privacy settings in all the sites mentioned by the govenment, to protect individuals identities.

Internet content is impossible to be controlled. What is objectionable to one may not be so objectionable to others. Neither Google, nor facebook or anybody for that matter be able to control.It is the responsibility of the respective governments to take action. The world is full of people who are cracy, with no respect for the sentiments of others. It is not the responsibility of the networking sites to moniter the content unless it is brought to its notice. People should learn to react in a civilized manner when objectionable content is published.

I think kapil is right up to certain extent, that certain steps to be taken for the content to be posted on these social networking sites.
Since sometimes people shares their personal opinion at a public place where all may or may not agree with hi/her opinion.

Freedom should go along with respect to others, freedom doesnt mean insulting others, i have personally observed that sometimes people share content/thougts that is not supposed to be publicaly shared, and sometimes people goes beyond limits.

The fisrt thing I will do when I get home today is put those 'offensive' material on my facebook wall .... I havent even seen them yet but Mr Sibal surely has encouraged me to do so.... Thank you Sibaljee

When his (Sibal's) days are over as a politico, then i wish people are there in front of his house, and reminding him of what all he talked about, and how he continued to protect the 1st Family of Congress. What an embarrassment! Doesn't he show how degraded is the quality of our Legal fraternity (even though his father was an imminent Advocate, and he is supposedly from HLS). Sycophancy also has its limits. This guy (Sibal) will sooner than later realize this fact, when the people, especially from his own Constituency, Chandni Chowk give him the boot, once and for all. In fact people like me have also started questioning his credentials as an imminent Advocate. Kapil, get down to the ground, and don't follow your Father's footsteps blindly. HLS should have at least taught you that. Sadly, and i am certain, he is as bookish, as one can get. We Indians elected him, and we have to bear that fate. So long my friends.

The community is India is not bothered if Sonia Gandhi's name is
defamed. Kapil Sibil wants to prove his loyalty to Sonia. India is
ruled by persons who are worse than Talibans. Judges should not cross
the Lakshman Rekha. Press should be more responsible. Media should not
talk or show about corruption. Anna Hazare should not be praised. So
on and so forth.
Dr. K. Shnkar

Internet today is like a ocean of information.Content objectionable to one may be of information to another.Government should clearly define what it means by objectionable content(blasphemous, sexual, provocative etc).This clarity will enable approaching the solution easily.

The internet is self regulatory! Doesn't the honourable minister know this basic tenet? It is fully possible for other users to find some material objectionable, flag it, and have it removed by the respective administrators. The fact that this "content" Kapil Sibal talks about has not incited any untoward incident or outcry clearly shows people are mature enough to know what is freedom of expression in people's own "spaces", and what is blasphemy. The internet has new paradigms and cannot be treated as the same as print, television and cinema.

If the onus of curbing this sort of content is somehow passed on to the Internet Service Providers, then these ISPs must also become responsible for millions of rupees siphoned off from the exchequer due to rampant piracy of content. I'm sure the film producers of India for instance, would welcome such a useful move in doing something about a real menace, rather than some frivolous move that will not work at all in cyberspace.

Perhaps, the government should employ a bunch of graduates to read the messages on peoples wall(not sure how they will police private postings), and use facebook's "falg as inappropriate" feature.

Its not the job of facebook or google to do this activity. They have provided mechanism where "community" can report inappropriate content, and they have followed it up.

I can recommend as a follow up action, implant a chip on every child that is born, and start monitoring the thoughts. This way, we can prevent "objectionable" content even being posted on any media.

What nonsense is this! If you find some content objectionable, turn
off your computer and don't look at it. Don't be childish.

Who is behind this policy? Let me guess.
1) Politicians, who hate being mocked for their incompetence and
corruption.
2) Religious extremists of all types, who can't tolerate free debate
about the relative merits and demerits of their positions.

What will we have next? Anti-blasphemy laws like Pakistan? If an
Indian doesn't like that certain things exist on the Internet, let him
go to Pakistan or Saudi Arabia or Communist China. The Internet is
censored from "objectionable material" in those countries.

foolish guy!!! ran out of constructive ideas :P

Firstly I ask Mr. Sibal that who are they to decide what is
"objectionable"? And what contents are "blasphemous" for the
government? Is writing against government is objectionable? We all
know the part social media played in the Anna movement against the
government. Does this mean that in future such dissents will be curbed
by government?
First this government says that we are creating modern India by
allowing FDI's. Then they show how conservative their thinking by
censoring the internet content.
In China because of their "Great firewall", sites showing police
brutality, Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, freedom of speech,
democracy, and Marxism are banned. Surely Government of India will try
to do a similar thing.
I wonder whether this comment will be censored by the government?
Please don't take citizens of India for granted.

Good decision by Govt.
Even the govt should ban the live photos in the info related to the labor room and other female related info.
For ex. when i was going thro some info on the above, i found dirtiest of the dirty photos showing the live of a child's birth; i which is not at all necessary to keep to open for all.
As a human being every one is aware as and when reqired and hence it should not be publicised.

Government should have given such type of "Farman" for
(1)Pornographic sites also.
(2)Sites from which free movies can be downloaded.
(3) illegal stories.

I just want to say the government don't follow the way of Hitler
because no one in government have ability like to work in Hitler.
We are living in Democratic country.

Facebook and google and others gives the reality what people think
about Politician. Politicians would have learn from that and
improve their personality rather banning the contents. If you
really want to ban then at first Ban the illegal sites then come
to our loved one "Fb".

But what is objectionable to this govt?..I think Kapil sibal is refering to support lokpal movement received,writings against indian money in foreign banks .....Write ups against inflation etc...

The govt want to decide everything..like monarchs of past years!!!.They are now afraid about people forming groups and discussing issues over social media!!!

Can Mr.Sibal stop a group of people if they sit in a room, and well yeah, abuse the people they wish, in objectionable language, among themselves.Social networks are technically platform for people who are like minded.Eavesdropping behind the curtain where adult citizens talk among themselves.....well whatever they wish- girls, sex, masturbation or revolution, is not the business of a responsible and mature state, unless such acts are provenly responsible for some tangible action that violates some law of the land or infringes others' rights.Social networks should not be unilaterally termed as public forums.Accotding to customisation opted by the user, regarding with whom he shares his posts, it varies.

regulation on content matter in the internet is necessary as many
lives and families in India has been worsened and the status , living
conditions has affected to this irregulation . Though Freedom of
press is not curbed , due to non regulation of content many journos
and scribes has been laid off due and also mis belief by the employer
in this regard. self respect and faith on the individual and his work
is looked with suspicion. Though self regulation system is adopted by
scribes and journos the matter is maligned when it reaches the other
hand. changes in the matter has affected their originality which
affects their self made image. Human resource , information and
technology minister Mr Kapil Sibal who is always praising his
government of clean and transparent governance , initially has to set
right the requirements of press or media. As Media is maligned due to
the policies made by the centre , it is the sole duty of his
government to take in to consideration, instruct companies.

Who will decide on what is objectionable? Because if somebody praise or greet corrupt politicions for me that is objectionable.
Good work and good people are never concerned what is there in any media for them. But corrupt do........

Kapil Sibal is afraid of our words on internet. I mean, they censor
your words when they're scared of it. So, he has come up with the
super idea of being a censor on internet. So, you must know that a
censor is an expert in cutting remarks. A censor is a man who knows
more than he thinks you ought to. But this American stooge should
remember what Her Highness Henry Clinton has to say on this, " Both
the American people and nations that censor the internet should
understand that our government is committed to helping promote
internet freedom." This might make him see reason that he can't censor
people's thoughts.

The misgovernance of the ruling powers with all scandals and swindles galore,exposed by the likes of central monitoring and regulating agencies and through the initiatives of selective yet stunning judiciary is the daunting reality being faced by the people cutting across all barriers of society in this country.In such a scenario it is natural on the part of the people to use media technologies to express dissent or dissatisfaction against the policies of a government steeped in corruption and has the nerve to put the security of the nation to the back burner by awarding licenses in sensitive tech.to dubious firms.In fact the social networking sites has created social awareness not tension as they have given a platform for people of all class and creed to voice their opinions,assent or dissent in a free manner.For the past couple of years mounting criticism of the congress party elites are seen in all sections and aspects of society, why target the net based media alone.

So it seems we are going the China way. Good job Mr. Sibal. I think I
might just move to Pakistan or Afghanistan now. Maybe Iran too.

Maybe Kapil Sibal will back off if we agree to rename the internet as 'Shrimati Sonia Gandhi Antarrashtriya Computer Mayajaal'.