Pulatsya Shukla, Asst. Professor V.S.S.D. College, Kanpur
ABSTRACT
Citizens in India are free to express their ideas, views or opinions freely by means of spoken words, printing, pictures, visible representations or any other mode. This freedom of speech and expression is guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. Preamble of Indian Constitution itself provides for the liberty of expression. ‘Freedom of Press’ also derives its essence from this Article 19(1)(a), although it as a specific term finds no mention in the Constitution of India. national and international events relating to social, economic, cultural as well Importance of free press is apparent from the fact that it provides minute as well as detailed information of as political sphere which in turn helps in the formation of public opinion. Press involves print media, visual media and social media. Social media facilitates rapid electronic communication of content which may include photos, videos, personal information or views etc. It’s just a matter of few clicks on your phone and you can easily share your views with the world at large but as there are two sides of a coin, so there are also numerous problems created by social media. There is always an uncertainty in believing any news which is in circulation through social media because it might have been posted by any anonymous person whose identity is not known. Problems like obscenity, hate speech, identity theft, fake news, defamation, cyber bullying etc. have been encountered. People are misusing this platform of social media for their pecuniary and political motives. Social media being dynamic in nature is changing continuously and administration of justice is finding difficulty to address potential threats arising from this dynamism. Regulatory mechanism is lacking in efficiency to deal with the problems arising. Although the problems posed by social media have been governed by the Information Technology Act, 2000; Indian Penal Code, 1860; Criminal Procedure Act, 1973 etc. but loopholes do exist. Effective regulatory mechanism is the need of the hour. This research paper will look into the regulatory mechanism which is being followed to deal with these problems and will also look into the comparative dimensions of social media regulations.
Keywords: Social media, Cyber bullying, Fake news, Hate speech, Identity theft, Defamation
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