Human Rights In Indian Cyberspace

Civil liberties in India and technological revolution are sharing an adverse relationship in India. The more technology India is using the greater are civil liberties violations in India. For instance, e-surveillance in India is openly done without any constitutionally sound legal framework.

The civil liberties protection in cyberspace in India are totally absent and  Indian government is introducing laws, regulations and rules that clearly violate the freedoms guaranteed by Indian constitution. Now Indian government has extended its e-surveillance activities to Internet and mobile infrastructure as well.

According to Praveen Dalal, leading techno legal expert of Asia and managing partner of Perry4Law and CEO of PTLB, Surveillance of Internet Traffic in India is one of the top priorities of Indian Government. Now E-Surveillance is proposed to be expanded to even mobile infrastructure. The cell site location based e-surveillance in India is also in contemplation. Cell site data location laws in India and privacy issues are once again bypassed for this proposal. Even the E-Surveillance Policy of India is missing that can provide some safeguards against Illegal and Unconstitutional E-Surveillance in India, informs Praveen Dalal.

Similarly projects like Aadhar project of India, central monitoring system project of India, etc are also intended to strengthen the e-surveillance capabilities of India without and constitutional safeguards.

ICT policies and strategies of India are grossly defective and clearly violating human rights in cyberspace. In fact, there is a dedicated resource titled websites, blogs and news censorship by Google and Indian government that is making a database of various censorship and results manipulation activities in India.

Indian government must ensure civil liberties protection in Indian cyberspace as that is its constitutional as well as human right objective.

Civil Liberties In India And Technological Revolution

India has been resisting technological revolution for long. Whether it is draconian information technology amendment act 2008 or Internet censorship activities or e-surveillance obsession or curbing of use of video conferencing, Indian is leaving no occasion to curb technology.

Civil liberties in cyberspace in India are in grave danger as India is more and more anxious to control information and communication technology (ICT). In fact, techno legal experts like Praveen Dalal, managing partner of ICT law firm Perry4Law, have openly suggested repealing of the information technology act, 2000 (IT Act 2000).

The IT Act 2000 is the sole cyber law of India that has become an instrumentality of oppression, censorship and surveillance. For instance, the recent Internet intermediary guidelines issued by Indian government are considered so offensive by all concerned that a motion to annul the same is currently pending before the Parliament of India.

However, even if the Internet intermediary guidelines are annulled, the draconian IT Act 2000 would keep on haunting Indian stakeholders. Internet intermediary were recently asked to pre screen contents before posting. Members of Association for Progressive Communications (APC) can themselves analyse the vagueness and absurdity of any such demand.

Now Indian government may ask Google, Facebook, etc to establish servers in India so that their activities can be watched and controlled. Add to this the lawless and non accountable projects like Aadhar, central monitoring system project of India, national cyber coordination centre (NCCC) of India, etc and you would get a picture of Indian endemic e-surveillance intentions.

Fortunately, Indians have been fighting for human rights protection in Indian cyberspace. Even awareness about human rights protection in cyberspace is spreading at national and international level. However, the call is for the United Nation (UN) to take. Till now UN is very slow in adopting and recognising human rights in cyberspace.

No matter howsoever oppressive a regime may be technology would find ways to defeat the same. With some additional safeguards, anonymity and speech and expression can be further safeguarded.

Indian government must realise that technology is not an enemy but a friend and hostile intentions would not help Indian government anymore. The sooner it is realised the better it would be for the larger benefits of India.

Indian Government Can And Should Block Offending Websites

Lots of hue and cry has been seen these days due to the stern warning of Delhi High Court to block websites that do not comply with Indian laws and legal demands arising out of the same. It seems the mainstream media is not understanding the situation and just hysterically reporting the matter for the sake of reporting.

The better news is that the Indian government has sanctioned prosecution of websites and social networking platforms like Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo India over objectionable content on their sites. Now the question arises is blocking of Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, etc in India is required? Can Indian government block such websites and should it block such websites?

The answer is very simple. Yes it can and in fact Indian government should block all such websites that do not comply with Indian laws as in force. Few of us already believe that such websites must be blocked in India if they violate copyright and other laws of India and fail to comply with them despite them being suitably notified.

In fact, Indian government has already started the process in this regard. Filing its reply in the trial court the government gave its nod to invoke serious charges against the accused websites.

Meanwhile, the trial court on Friday adjourned till March 13, the hearing in the case of 21 social networking sites allegedly hosting objectionable content. The court has directed the external affairs ministry to serve the summons issued to foreign-based social networking sites and websites. The efforts of trail court are worth praising and let us hope that these efforts would come out with a concrete result.

So what is the law of India in this regard? According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India, Websites Blocking in India by Judiciary must be Just, Reasonable and Fair. There should not be an “Unreasonable” or “Casual Approach” towards Blocking of Websites in India by Indian Courts. If Websites are “Violating” Laws of India and they have been “Notified” to this effect and still they “do not Remedy the Situation”, then the Safe Harbour Protection under Indian Information Technology Act, 2000 is “Lost” and such Websites/Owners can be Prosecuted in India, informs Praveen Dalal.

Thus, as far as prosecution of these accused websites are concerned that is perfectly legal as per Indian laws. Now let us examine the desirability of blocking of such websites if they do not comply with orders of Indian courts. Websites can be “Legally Blocked” in India if they fail to “Comply” with Court’s Directions or Directions of Indian Government Agencies like Computer Emergency Response Team, India (CERT-IN) that are duly ordered in this regard by a Designated Officer, informs Praveen Dalal. So even blocking of such websites is justified and legal in India.

I am sure when the Delhi High Court would hear the accused websites lawyers in next hearing; the offending contents would be already removed by these websites. There was no need to drag the matter to such an extent and the offensive material should have been deleted earlier. All that was required to be seen was whether the offending material in question violates any law of India. If it does the material must be removed after the communication in this regard is duly made to the concerned website.

You have a right to speech and expression but you cannot defame others and post pornographic materials upon sites. The poster of such material is definitely liable for punishment but even the Internet intermediaries like websites and social media websites loose their safe harbour protection if they fail to exercise due diligence.

There is nothing new in this position as even US laws like Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) 1998 do not extend safe harbour protection if the internet intermediary fails to observe due diligence. When these websites are following similar norms, rather more stringent one, in US why they are reluctant in doing so in India. The entire episode has shown just one thing that these websites do not wish to follow Indian laws and if they cannot be successfully tried in India, blocking of such websites is a good option.

I am a firm believer of civil liberties in cyberspace and am against unreasonable and illegal technology control, e-surveillance, Internet censorship and websites blocking, but i also believe that laws of various countries must be followed by all as well. Thus, Indian government and courts can and should block these websites in India if they keep on ignoring Indian laws anymore. Of course, those who wish to access such websites in India can still access the same through anti censorship mechanism.

Homeland Security In India

Homeland security in India is an essential part of the overall security and national security of India. Recent events such as the Mumbai terror attacks and other security concerns have forced Indian government to not only modernise the law enforcement and intelligence infrastructure of India but also to establish homeland security infrastructure in India.

However, homeland security of India needs urgent rejuvenation as the same is not up to the mark. Experts have even suggested for the establishment of a centralised ICT control system in India for this purpose.

Homeland Security is in infancy stage in India, says Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. Further, India also needs a separate Framework for Cyber Security, Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) and Homeland Security issues, suggest Praveen Dalal.

Homeland security is also an important aspect of India’s cyber security. India is increasingly facing issues like cyber crimes, cyber terrorism, cyber security breaches, cyber warfare, cyber espionage, etc. This is the main reason why we are considering establishment of cyber warfare capabilities in India.

Further, another area that has been ignored by India pertains to lawful interception law in India. India presently has no lawful interception law and enacting a constitutionally sound law in this regard is the need of the hour.

Lawful e-surveillance capabilities have also assumed importance in India these days due to growing concerns of civil liberties protection in cyberspace. If the e-surveillance conducted by the Indian government and its agencies is beyond what is approved by the laws of India and Indian Constitution, the same may be challenged before a court of law.

Homeland security is a very tricky issue and Indian government must keep in mind all the aspects pertaining to the same. It must also maintain a delicate balance between civil liberties and national security requirements in India. Giving primacy to one over another without any balancing exercise would be counter productive for India, says Praveen Dalal.

Although homeland security issues have already been discussed in India yet they need a direction and policy support. Indian government must work in the direction of formulating a homeland security policy of India.