-The Times of India Telecom minister Kapil Sibal says the Information Technology Act shouldn't be misused to "throttle dissent". But is he prepared to go the length to stop misuse? Consider the legal gloss Section 66A of the Act puts on assaults on free expression. Two incidents should suffice as examples. In April, a professor was arrested in Kolkata for forwarding a cartoon depicting Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. More recently, a...

-The Indian Express The debate about Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, is growing heated. As more cases of its abuse surface, even Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal has begun to mull changes to the act. The key question to be probed is whether individual actions booked under the provision are isolated instances of abuse or the section itself flawed. For that, we need to first explore how...

-The Hindustan Times The Maharashtra police are likely to drop the charges against the two Palghar women for their comments on Facebook protesting the Shutdown of Mumbai after the death of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on November 17. The police are also likely to initiate punitive action against the cops who arrested them. An inquiry report on the incident was submitted to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Saturday, indicting senior and junior...

-The Hindu India’s proposed changes to ITRs preliminary; firm position in Dubai only after consultation and consensus India’s proposal on the International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs), submitted to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), is far from the last word on the matter, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal has said. Mr. Sibal’s remark offers immense relief to Indian citizens and the Internet industry, especially Internet and mobile service providers, social media and other companies that are...

-Outlook Terming the arrest of two girls in Mumbai for their Facebook posts on the Shutdown during Bal Thackeray's funeral as an "assualt" on freedom of speech, CPI today accused Maharashtra government of being "scared" of Shiv Sena and asked it to own up responsibility for the incident. Patry National Secretary D Raja decried the action as "draconian" and wondered whether people have even lost their right to express their opinion freely. "It...