Ministers of the UPA-II have often landed on their backs while trying to do political somersaults. Pranab Mukherjee has had to eat humble pie on the foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail trade. Next is Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal with his weird idea of policing the social networking sites. While service providers are responsible for internet content and can be told to remove offensive posts after due complaints, it is well nigh impossible to make them scour the contents before they are put up on the social networking sites. Sibal’s action has generated a countrywide revolt and the battle interestingly is fought on cyber space. Gen X is the most vociferous in its protests. Some of the comments are scorching and unprintable. Now Sibal denies policing the social networking sites. He says he is only cautioning against abuse of the space.
Commenting on the Indian government’s move to monitor content on social networking sites, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said access to internet and various social media must not be blocked as a way to prevent criticism and public debate. The US and other western countries have similarly cautioned India against monitoring content on social networking sites saying that freedom of speech is as important as views on social networking sites. So where does this leave Kapil Sibal? Or indeed the country where being a citizen today means being part of the internet savvy regime.
There is a thin line between freedom and license. In a country which is multi-religious and multi-ethnic and where sensitivities are acute, there is a case for conflagrating communal passions through provocative comments. In that case perhaps Sibal has a point. But it is also true that social networking sites are the only spaces where ordinary citizens can take pot shots at politicians and other public figures. The Anna Hazare campaign succeeded largely because of Facebook and Twitter. So the government indeed has reason to be worried about. In 2014, the electoral battle will be fought over social networks. But is that a good enough case to monitor internet content? The people are speaking out and governments must have the stamina to listen.
