Now go over there and hand your balls in. You won't be needing them any more.

 

If all goes according to plan, internet users may not be able to put up a strong message or comment about, say, the Congress on the BJP's website. A simple complaint from a Congress worker or, for that matter, any Indian citizen, can get the comment removed - it could even lead to the website being blocked by the host. Similarly, forceful comments on networking sites like Twitter and Facebook about individuals and on issues of national interest could soon also be history. If anyone wants, a simple complaint can get the comments - or even a user - removed from that network without informing him or her about it.

The new set of rules gives any citizen the right to complain against any content on any website that they consider objectionable. The new guidelines redefine the rules of the game for online intermediaries - Internet Service Providers, a website, a blog or a blog host, or the online edition of a media company with space for letters to the editor. These intermediaries, who are protected by the government against harmful content generated by third parties, stand to lose their protection if they do not comply and take off the objectionable comments within 36 hours.

As expected, there is a huge outcry in the online community and in civil society on the implications. Pranesh Prakash, programme manager, Centre for Internet and Society, says, "We are concerned about the overreach of the IT Act. These rules are unconstitutional and violative of Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. It is harmful to freedom of speech and does not go by the basic principles of natural justice because only the complainant is heard and not the user." {Read on}

Related articles

• Concern over impact of Internet control rules on free speech (hindu.com)
• Congress Party's Plan to control the Internet in India : Silence Dissent (hidf1.wordpress.com)
• Video: Pranesh Prakash Speaks About Software Patents (techrights.org)
• Indian Government Plans To Regulate Online Content & Blogs - Medianama.com (yogeshnaiks-blawg.blogspot.com)

Good luck. As my tort law professor said, "Sue the bastards."

Image by indieink via Flickr

Imagine this: four teenagers take to Facebook to create a fake profile that continually misrepresents your son as a gay racist. Then consider that profile amasses 580 plus friends. You’d be pretty pissed off, right?For one mom in particular, Laura Cook, this nightmare is a reality for her and her athlete son. Fighting back, she’s now suing the four teenagers, on behalf of her son, on five separate counts including defamation and emotional distress. She’s seeking compensatory and punitive damages for amounts not yet disclosed.


The lawsuit, embedded below, alleges that not only did the teens in question create the profile with the plaintiff’s real name, but they also include his real cell phone number, posted photos of the boy, shared status updates with obscenities and descriptions of sexual acts, included profile data that depicted the boy as racist and gay, and even managed to friend 580 facebookers. The document also goes into detail including some of the hideous comments and replies from those who were exposed to the fake profile.

Not surprisingly, the suit also claims that the effects of the fake profile were felt by the boy and his family both online and off. With the boy suffering “severe emotional distress,” “humiliation and embarrassment,” while the whole family “have had to change athletic clubs and coaches.” {Read on}

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• Not an obscene racist after all: 4 flagged for Facebook fake (arstechnica.com)
• Teens Sued for Fake Facebook Profile (abcnews.go.com)
• Report: Teen gets 15 years for Facebook blackmail (news.cnet.com)