Thread by @barandbench

Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul to deliver a lecture on "Freedom of Speech in times of COVID-19 - Fake News and Misinformation" for the online lecture series organized by the Madras Bar Association (MBA)

Justice Kaul begins the lecture, says the challenges of this time are different especially with the expansion of technology which has brought with it the problem of fake news and misinformation at a time when people are unable to touch base with each other.

#COVID19

Justice Kaul: Constitution provides for a limited restriction on Freedom of Speech.

Freedom of Speech gives an avenue to express oneself which is bit physical in manner.

It also gives a checking value system which gives power to check those in power

Justice Kaul: If we say we are a tolerant society, free speech helps in shape the tolerant society in terms of ideas. In a true democracy like India, you can have people who believe in various economic thinkings, we have shades of opinions.

Justice Kaul: Absence of free speech also results in lack of dissent.

Dissent must also emerge emerge from free speech

Justice Kaul: Why do we say free judiciary or independent courts are important? It is because only when these institutions exist that we are able to solve disputes. Crux of independent of democracy and free courts is in free speech.

#FreedomOfSpeech

Justice Kaul: The bedrock of any democracy is the Freedom of Speech.

#FreedomOfSpeech

Justice Kaul: Even prior to the Covid period, we are increasingly becoming intolerant of the opinions that do not match with ours. What is perceived as the middle path becomes the casualty. There are various shades if grey, it is not always black and white.

Justice Kaul: As a democratic polity, how to appreciate the other opinion that is different from ours becomes an important aspect.

#FreedomOfSpeech

Justice Kaul: So people who hold opposing views may be called by each other as a "Modi Bhakt" or an "Urban Naxal" or other labels. In these different political views also, ability to convey one's ideas is important.

Justice Kaul: Often the section calling another as intolerant is itself also getting intolerant.

#FreedomOfSpeech

Justice Kaul, quoting Soli Sorabjee: In a real democracy, the dissenter must feel at home and not to be nervously looking over his shoulder fearing captivity or bodily harm, or economic and social sanctions for unconventional views. There should be freedom of thought we hate.

Justice Kaul says that now, there appears to be a competition between newspapers and other forms of media with everyone trying to disseminate virulent content and there is little accountability.

#FreedomOfSpeech
#COVID__19

Justice Kaul: We must ask ourselves that does spreading of fake news and misinformation come under any of the reasons why Freedom of Speech was enshrined.

#FreedomOfSpeech

Justice Kaul: In the Covid period, there are largely there actors when it comes to spread of fake news and misinformation - people holding position of power, anonymous authors of WhatsApp messages, and third those who forward these messages.

#FreedomOfSpeech

Justice Kaul highlights the menace of incessant forwarding of WhatsApp messages, says these messages often are forwarded "mindlessly" without even seeing if the information is right or not leaving it open for the recipient to verify the information, if at all

Justice Kaul: There is a lot of information available in this Covid time including its "remedies", the origin, people who are "helping the spread of the virus" and such. These messages can take religious and racial undertones

#FreedomOfSpeech
#COVID__19

Justice Kaul: Sometimes this misinformation leads people to believe in it and so much so that there may be an A.32 petition in sayings issue writ of mandamus to direct enforcement of a certain remedy for Covid because the messages have led people to believe in it

Justice Kaul: The question that arises is who should be held accountable for this fake news and misinformation... In an ideal would speech can be rebutted by speech

#FreedomOfSpeech

Justice Kaul: Social Media and intermediaries have their codes on content on their platform. But post the Shreya Singhal case, the liability is limited to a take down order.

Justice Kaul: It is said that the pen is mightier than the sword but today the pen is replaced by the keyboard and everyone has access to these platforms to express themselves and often without accountability... Opposing views can be trolled.

Justice Kaul: When the Press is writing, they are accountable. Writing news is their bread and butter and they write with certain sense of responsibility.

But the others may not have anything at stake and no accountability, no system of checks and balances.

#FreedomOfThePress

Justice Kaul: I keep saying don't read what you don't like, don't see what you don't like but in this time of confinement, the time spent by people on these platforms is higher.

IT Act gives power to the government to curtail these platforms but it is a limited power

Justice Kaul: The government had issued an advisory as regards spread if misinformation in the face of COVID-19. This came after seeing the kind of messages that were being spread

#FreedomOfSpeech

Justice Kaul says obscenity on social media is a concern and gives the example of "Bois locker room" incident of instagram.

Hate speech is also a consern, Justice Kaul points out, says growing intolerance is evident.

Justice Kaul: Any regulation of social media may impinge on free speech and right to privacy, so the struggle is to regulate the social media without affecting free speech.

#FreedomOfSpeech
#RightToPrivacy

Justice Kaul: So it is a responsibility on everyone to see that content is verified before it is sent.

#fakenews

Justice Kaul: The intolerance is also at times reflected in terms of the institutions including the judiciary at times. I say with some hesitation but the judiciary performs a particular role and does not have the opportunity to respond to criticism.

Justice Kaul: Criticism of view point, judgment - no problem. But when imputations and gradings start being made, I think we damage the very institution.

Justice Kaul: The unfortunate part is that some of us who have been part of the institution, either from the Bar or the Bench, there is a problem of "after me the deluge" which is that since we are gone, everything is going wrong.

Justice Kaul: I hope the members of the Bar and the Judiciary who have been here must appreciate the challenges of any time and the system

Justice Kaul: To remain in news has also become a problem and the tendency is more critical and in a manner that crosses certain lines. This is like misinformation pandemic and I hope there is rethink of this process

Justice Kaul: I think some boundary has to be maintained otherwise it becomes part of a disinformation which causes doubts on institutions and I don't think that's good for any system because if you mistrust every system then you don't have a system, you have anarchy

Justice Kaul: institutions should not be unnecessarily vilified in a manner that damages the institutions.

"When imputations and gradings are made, we damage the very institution," Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul on criticism of Supreme Court

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