-The Hindu In an unprecedented move, the government, through the Department of Telecommunications and the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, has agreed to initiate dialogue on Internet censorship with mega Internet companies, social media giants such as Google and Facebook, members of civil society, technical community, media, ISPs and legal experts. The triggers for the discussion, which will be held on Wednesday, are the riots in Assam, Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh,...

-The Hindu ‘Security forces’ positions were being watched by collaborators across border’ Slamming the electronic media for its live coverage of the 26/11 terrorist attacks, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said that by doing so the Indian TV channels did not serve the national interest or any social cause. A Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and C.K. Prasad, while confirming the death sentence on the prime accused, Ajmal Kasab, said the “reckless coverage…...

-The Hindu Terming broadcasters’ attempts at self-regulation “futile and meaningless,” the Press Council of India (PCI) has asked the government to amend law and bring the electronic media — both broadcast and social — under the ambit of an expanded and renamed Media Council. PCI chairman Markandey Katju has been urging the inclusion of the electronic media under the Council’s regulatory umbrella ever since he took charge last year. However, the recent...

-The Economic Times The trail of those who leaked the Niira Radia tapes could have been lost forever had not the Supreme Court decided to keep a copy with itself. The Centre on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that it has destroyed the entire Radia tapes, publication of excerpts from which threw the spotlight on ways of doing business as well as the tendency of security agencies to violate privacy of...

-The Times of India The Union government has stepped up its efforts to stop what it perceives an online campaign of misinformation and rumour-mongering in the wake of Assam riots and has blocked several Twitter accounts, including two belonging to journalists, considered sympathetic to far Right in India. The blocked accounts include those maintained by Kanchan Gupta, who until a few months ago was with the Pioneer newspaper, and Shiv Aroor, a...