Assailed from all sides, does the UPA really hope to recover its ‘image’ by muzzling online dissent? Kapil Sibal ko gussa kyon aata hai? Butt of online jokes: Politicians in 'tweaked' cinematic avatars. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. The UPA government has made it something of a fine art. Hardly had the ruckus over the decision to open up the retail sector to FDI died down than...

The Union minister for communications and information technology, Kapil Sibal, is a knowledgeable lawyer, and someone who is reportedly committed to the freedom of speech. He would not lightly propose regulations that contravene Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression) of our Constitution. So how is one to explain his recent proposals on controlling online speech? Or even the immoderate IT Rules that have been in force since April? This controversy...

Making reckless remarks or comments against the judiciary would weaken the institution, the Supreme Court observed on Thursday. During the resumed hearing of a contempt case against advocate Prashant Bhushan and Tehelka , Justice Altamas Kabir, who was on a three-judge Bench, told counsel: “The judiciary has withstood all kinds of pressure and has remained a strong pillar of democracy. No one stands for this institution. If this institution is corroded,...

-The Economic Times   Information technology minister Kapil Sibal's demand that Facebook and Google screen user-generated content manually before they put it up is impractical and, therefore, unacceptable. But this does not mean that everything he has said should be rejected alongside.  Nor is there any merit in the outcries of outrage over imperilled Freedom of expression. Free speech is not unbridled, anywhere. Even the internet companies in question accept this. They say...

-The Hindustan Times   With great power comes great freedom. Which, in turn, calls for being responsible. The act to do things freely is one of the fundamental joys of being part of a liberal democracy. With powerful technological platforms and social networking sites such as Facebook, even repressed societies get to savour unfettered expression. But there is a flip side to such a freedom. And this involves the need to respect the...