Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Online monitoring' that was published in Newsband

Online monitoring

Laws seeking to regulate online activity, especially on social media, will have to be tested against two fundamental rights: free speech and privacy. Norms relating to data protection are essential but attempts to regulate online content are seen with suspicion. There arises doubt whether freedom of expression is violated.

Regulating online content could be blocking websites, disabling accounts, removing content and intercepting communication. That breaches privacy. For surveillance and monitoring of personal computers the government has sought feedback from social media and technology companies. Supreme Court had come up with landmark decision holding that privacy is a fundamental right. Some of these rules may have to be tested against the privacy case judgment, The court, however, has favoured stringent rules to curb online content that promotes child pornography or paedophilia, foments sectarian violence or activates lynch-mobs.

While regulating online content, a balance is struck between legitimate public interest and individual rights. To catch one thief punish all indirectly. It is not a true Democracy.

Unfortunately man had made every blessing from inventions into curses in some way because man is essentially driven by self-interest that leads ambitious and greedy elements to overstep the use ethics of inventions. Without a clear line between privacy and security concerns it gets more challenging for States to ensure security of their territory and people from nefarious elements. Precisely for this reason the evil outfits use privacy walls to carry out their plans to predate on the society. It is indeed true that ambitious rulers may also use this excuse to snoop into the private deals of their competitors and an element of risk creeps into every strategic step to ensure well-being of people. The devil in men finds new ways to circumvent every protective steps of civilized society and the latter should also be working on updating their strategies. As they say, the Kurukshetra is not a one-time event but a symbolism for the rise and fall of human civilizations.

Privacy is the fundamental right of every citizen but day by day a lots of crimes such as hacking of account and site and spreading of fake news etc. are happening through internet. So that surveillance on internet activity is good idea.

It is not that all fundamental rights can be protected at all costs. Due to technological developments, sometimes the protection of one fundamental right such as right to life cannot be ensured without compromising the extent to which other rights are granted. If in the interest of overall protection of right to life of all citizens, some other rights such as right to privacy might have to be compromised. With changing times the citizenry and the government has to be sensitive to this issue and the messenger who is bringing this change should not be faulted.

Online communication through social medias have both pros and cons. The polity has the responsibility to monitor the operation of such medium with surveillance to guarantee that it is used for constructive purposes. Hence restrictions on the usage of such platform should be a balanced one of arresting misuse and at the same time keeping privacy on information passed and kept through the medium.