‘Freedom of speech must not extend to right to offend’
30 Jan 2013 3:43 PM IST
‘Democratisation’ of the information sector, with easy access to news and social media platforms, should take into account implications on social ethics and norms, and freedom of speech should not extend to the right to offend, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said. Addressing a function Tewari said media should take to self-regulation ‘as an instinct’.
‘With the democratization of the information paradigm, it has to take into account what are the implications on social ethics, social milieu, social norms... Freedom of speech should not extend to the right to offend’, he continued, adding that a ‘remedy’ should be found to the issue.
Referring to social media, Tewari said there is ‘need to make a distinction between right to privacy and the right to know’.
‘The right to anonymity can be corrosive to social order,’ he said. The minister's comments can be seen in reference to many postings critical of the government by anonymous accounts as well as imposter accounts posing as the PMO or poking fun at the PM on the social media network Twitter.
The minister said the broadcasting space has seen a huge expansion in the past two decades, from one broadcaster in 1990 to over 850 TV channels, while FM radio has also expanded in the past five years. The social media has also expanded with around seven crore users. This posed a question ‘whether regulation has been able to keep pace with the march of technology,’ said Tewari.
‘For orderly development of any sector, it is a prerequisite that enabling regulations of statutory architecture should keep pace with the changes as it unfolds,’ he added. On TRPs and sensationalism, Tewari said the issue needs to be deliberated whether it is due to the ‘skewed revenue model or an addiction that people have got into’.
‘With the democratization of the information paradigm, it has to take into account what are the implications on social ethics, social milieu, social norms... Freedom of speech should not extend to the right to offend’, he continued, adding that a ‘remedy’ should be found to the issue.
Referring to social media, Tewari said there is ‘need to make a distinction between right to privacy and the right to know’.
‘The right to anonymity can be corrosive to social order,’ he said. The minister's comments can be seen in reference to many postings critical of the government by anonymous accounts as well as imposter accounts posing as the PMO or poking fun at the PM on the social media network Twitter.
The minister said the broadcasting space has seen a huge expansion in the past two decades, from one broadcaster in 1990 to over 850 TV channels, while FM radio has also expanded in the past five years. The social media has also expanded with around seven crore users. This posed a question ‘whether regulation has been able to keep pace with the march of technology,’ said Tewari.
‘For orderly development of any sector, it is a prerequisite that enabling regulations of statutory architecture should keep pace with the changes as it unfolds,’ he added. On TRPs and sensationalism, Tewari said the issue needs to be deliberated whether it is due to the ‘skewed revenue model or an addiction that people have got into’.
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