Freedom of speech and expression over the internet influence the
entire online community, professionally and personally, in varying
degrees. In India, the statutory framework on these issues has been
inept and judicial precedent to shed light on the complex legal and
technical issues involved has been lacking.
The debate of online free speech and expression versus private
censorship has been raging for nearly a decade in India and during
its course the Copyright Act, 1957 (CA), the Information Technology
Act, 2000 (IT Act), and the Information Technology (Intermediaries
Guidelines) Rules, 2011, have been amended. The amendments have
ensured specific clarification of terms and concepts such as
"intermediary", "primary and secondary copyright
infringement", "actual knowledge", "due
diligence", "notice and take down" and "safe
harbour", to achieve a balance between safeguarding of rights
and interests and effective law enforcement.
