HC seeks Centre’s reply on plea against IT rules
The Madras high court on Thursday asked the Union government to respond to a petition by Carnatic musician TM Krishna, who challenged the newly enforced rules on digital and social media as unconstitutional for how they impact the freedom of expression and the right to privacy.
Including Krishna’s petition, there are now at least eight pleas filed in various high courts challenging the Information Technology (Guidelines For Intermediaries And Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 that came into force on May 26.
“Without privacy it’s impossible to create and perform. And the privacy that ought to be afforded to us all is intrinsically linked with our right to freedom of expression. Our Constitution contains a commitment to the liberty of imagination. Censorship sans reason offends this commitment. It is in furtherance of my rights to freedom of expression and privacy that I am filing the present writ petition,” Krishna argued in his petition.
The rules define new compliance requirements for social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook as well as messaging service providers like WhatsApp, and bring digital news and entertainment content providers under a new regulatory framework. In the case of
social media companies, some of the most contentious aspects relate to the government making it mandatory for them to take down content after an order and to trace the originator of a message or a post on their platforms.
In the context of digital media, the rules mandate a ‘code of ethics’. Krishna challenged the rules on five grounds: violation of freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a), violation of the freedom to practice any profession under Article 19(1)(g), violation of the fundamental right to privacy under Article 21, violation of Article 14 and for going beyond what has been mandated in the main legislation, the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy directed the additional solicitor general, R Sankaranarayanan, to file a detailed report in three weeks when the matter will be heard.
The government has defended these as steps needed to protect users, while some of these companies have challenged the rules.