-The Hindu   The BJP is not averse to the idea of a mechanism to curb “offensive and objectionable” material on the social networking websites with the approval of Parliament. In response to a specific question here, party Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha S.S. Ahluwalia said his party would support any “concrete measures” contemplated by the government to contain material on the internet which could hurt religious sentiments or were defamatory in...

India is one of only four countries which, during the first half of 2011, requested Google to remove content on the basis that it was critical of the government. Google refused to comply. The other countries were Thailand and Turkey -- where Google restricted local users from accessing the offending content -- and the United States, where it refused. According to Google's Transparency Report for January to June 2011, the Internet...

-The Times of India   Tension is brewing once again between the government and internet and social media companies over the telecom and IT ministry's demands to screen user content and remove offensive material before it is uploaded. Sources said over the last three months the government has been in talks with these firms to put in place a monitoring mechanism. On Monday, telecom & IT minister Kapil Sibal met executives from the...

A delhi court on Saturday ordered registration of an FIR against Team Anna member Kiran Bedi for allegedly misappropriating funds meant for her NGOs, India Vision Foundation and Navjyoti Foundation. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Amit Bansal ordered the FIR on the basis of a complaint filed by a Delhi-based lawyer, Devinder Singh Chauhan, alleging that Bedi had “looted” various paramilitary forces and state police organisations through a scheme called “Meri Police”...

The power to publish, which was once the preserve of a few, is now commonplace: the privilege is accessible to anyone with an internet connection who has anything to say. While the powers of publishing may have been well dispersed, it is not so well understood that everyone is bound by the same rules and restrains that apply to traditional publishers and media professionals. Social media sites, which have played...