[governance] Re: India to block Social Networks "like China"

[Aldo Matteucci]

right,
they are taking the ordre public tack
different story
this is also a hell of a problem for internet
because is has such "firestorm" capabilties.

We'd punish someone crying "fire" in a crowded theatre
why not do the same for the net?

Aldo

On 14 January 2012 08:43, Sivasubramanian M <isolatedn at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> An update:
> *
> *
> *
> *
> *19 other sites, apart from Facebook and Google face prosecution for
> 'hosting offensive content':*
> *
> *
> Granting sanction to prosecute 21 social networking websites, including
> Facebook and Google, the Union government on Friday said there was
> sufficient material to proceed against them for offences of promoting
> enmity between different groups of people.
>
> They are “doing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony” and
> hosting content that is “provocative, assertive and propagates prejudicial
> to national integration (sic),” it said.
>
> http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2798837.ece
> *
> *
> *
> *
>
> On Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 11:51 AM, Sivasubramanian M <isolatedn at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> The Delhi High Court on Thursday warned social networking site Facebook
>> India and search engine Google India that websites can be "blocked" like in
>> China if they fail to devise a mechanism to check and remove objectionable
>> material from their web pages.
>>
>> "Like China, we will block all such websites," Justice Suresh Kait said
>> while asking counsel for Facebook and Google India to develop a mechanism
>> to keep a check on and remove "offensive and objectionable" material from
>> their web pages.
>>
>> The two companies had moved the High Court seeking a stay on summons
>> issued to them by a Delhi trial court that is hearing a private criminal
>> complaint against them. Justice Kait did not stay the proceedings against
>> the two websites before the magistrate's court. The case comes up for
>> hearing at the lower court today.
>>
>> Former Additional Solicitor General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Google
>> India, said the postings of "obscene, objectionable and defamatory"
>> articles and other things cannot be "filtered" or "monitored".
>>
>> "No human interference is possible, and moreover, it can't be feasible to
>> check such incidents. Billions of people across the globe, post their
>> articles on the website. Yes, they may be defamatory, obscene but cannot be
>> checked," Mr Rohatgi said.
>>
>> He tried to distinguish between Google India and its US-based holding
>> company Google Inc. "The US-based Google Inc is the service provider and
>> not me (Google India) and hence, we are not liable for the action of my
>> holding company. Moreover, it is a criminal case where a vicarious
>> liability can be fastened on a company which has no role, whatsoever, in
>> the alleged offence," the lawyer argued.
>>
>> Citing provisions of the Information Technology Act, the counsel for
>> Google India said these websites are protected by the law in respect of
>> such "objectionable" material so far as they are not the authors. The
>> websites, he said, may lose that legal protection if they either modify or
>> monitor an article or comments or fail to deal with the complaints of an
>> affected person or the government on such issues.
>>
>> More at
>> http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/can-block-websites-like-china-delhi-high-court-warns-facebook-google-166383
>>
>> Sivasubramanian M
>> ISOC India Chennai
>> http://isocindiachennai.org
>>
>>
>> facebook: goo.gl/1VvIG
>> LinkedIn:  goo.gl/eUt7s
>> Twitter: http://goo.gl/kaQ3a
>> http://internetstudio.in/
>>
>>
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
>     governance at lists.cpsr.org
> To be removed from the list, visit:
>     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing
>
> For all other list information and functions, see:
>     http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance
> To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
>     http://www.igcaucus.org/
>
> Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t
>
>
>


-- 
Aldo Matteucci
65, Pourtalèsstr.
CH 3074 MURI b. Bern
Switzerland
aldo.matteucci at gmail.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.igcaucus.org/pipermail/governance/attachments/20120114/34294416/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.cpsr.org
To be removed from the list, visit:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing

For all other list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance
To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/

Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t