Tweet, Post, Jail: How Free Is Your Speech In Digital India?
Disha Maheshwari, NMIMS Kirit P. Mehta School of Law
ABSTRACT
The social media revolution has changed the face of democratic participation in India through giving citizens an opportunity to speak out, criticise, and organize on an unprecedented level. However, increasing governmental regulation, deletion, and criminalisation have raised questions regarding the contours of the right to express online. This paper aims to explore the constitutional protection of the right to freedom of speech online as enshrined in articles 19(1)(a) and 19(2) in conjunction with the Information Technology Act, 2000, IT Rules, 2021, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and judicial precedents such as Shreya Singhal, Anuradha Bhasin, the Disha Ravi case, the Mohammed Zubair case, Kunal Kamra, X Corp. vs. Union of India, and Ranveer Allahbadia vs. Union of India. The paper argues that the regulatory ambiguity may lead to a severe chilling effect on the lawfully protected expression and suggests a rights-based approach based on the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, transparency, and due process.
Keywords: Digital speech, Freedom of Speech, Article 19(1)(a), Social Media, Chilling Effect, Intermediary liability, Content moderation, Article 19(2).
