Indian Censors Block Opposition Legislator’s Social Media Post, Opposition Legislator Notes This Is Itself Newsworthy, Censors Block That Post Too

Trinamool Congress MP’s Posts Among Those Removed In Wave Of Takedowns, Her Statement About The Removal Is The Second Most-Viewed Post Of The Week

NEW DELHI – The Indian content takedown wave has, per NPR reporting, extended to posts by at least one sitting legislator from the Trinamool Congress opposition party, whose social media content about the Iran war and the Modi government’s response has been blocked following government takedown requests. The legislator’s subsequent statement about the removal of her posts – noting that “when lawful speech is targeted for removal, it raises serious questions about the health of our democracy” – has been the second most-shared piece of political content from India this week by volume, behind only the cooking gas hymn.

For Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat. London satirical journalism notes that the blocking of an elected legislator’s speech about a government policy and the subsequent viral spread of the blocked legislator’s statement about the blocking is the most efficient possible argument for why the blocking does not work.

The Constitutional Dimension

Article 19(1)(a) of India’s Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression to all citizens. The guarantee is, per the same constitution, subject to “reasonable restrictions” in the interest of public order, decency, and morality. The government’s three-hour takedown law operates within these restrictions. Whether the restrictions are “reasonable” when applied to an elected legislator’s commentary on a geopolitical crisis affecting her constituents is, per the Delhi High Court’s current caseload, a question that is being asked in more cases than the court expected when the law was tightened last year.

What The Pattern Shows

The pattern of takedowns, which per the NPR investigation extends from popular satirists to independent journalists to opposition politicians, suggests a government that is experiencing criticism from multiple directions simultaneously and is responding with a legal tool designed for individual content removal applied at scale. The Hindu‘s editorial position on the pattern has been consistent and is itself not subject to a three-hour takedown, which reflects the Hindu’s specific institutional position in Indian media.

SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/ | More: NewsThump