CYBERHATE IN INDIA – REGULATION AND INTERMEDIARY LIABILITY

Abstract Although hate is as old as human beings, with the upsurge of internet, Cyberhate has become a new phenomenon to vilify against other individuals on the ground of religion, race, caste, community, gender, nationality, language, disability or tribe. Considering huge number of internet users, India is leading in expressing online vitriol. Hateful expressions have become muti-faceted these days ranging from trolling to cyber-bullying to mobilizing terror over internet. Supreme Court of India through its judgment in Shreya Singhal Case has struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act. However, that has only exacerbated online hate. Critically analyzing, the desideratum would be to enact a better law or to amend the existing provisions of IT Act appropriately. The intermediaries monitor and restrict hate speech from their platforms and since they operate under constant fear of sanctions, it creates a chilling effect on the freedom of speech and expressions. In fact, the issue of intermediary liability has not gained enough attention in India as there is a dearth of judicial pronouncement on the subject. Among other steps to regulate hate in the cyberspace, the European Union Internet Forum has formulated a Code of Conduct to counter hate speech online. Moreover, Law Commission of India recently has suggested amendments in the IPC and CrPC regarding hate speech. Still, much more has to be done against the inertia hindering the existing system to ensure information technology keep pace with hate speech laws.