SC To Hear Plea On Reviewing Rules For Blocking Social Media Accounts

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea seeking a review of the existing rules regarding blocking of social media accounts and content. 

As per news agency PTI, a bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih has sought the Centre’s response on the petition, filed by Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), that seeks to quash Rule 16 of the IT Rules, 2009. 

Section 16 of the provision mandates the designated government official to maintain “proper” records of the “intercepted or monitored or decrypted information” and of the person posting the content that is to be blocked. However, Section 8 goes further and makes it compulsory for the “designated officer” to identify the originator of the content and issue a notice.

The plea claims that the current rules make it optional for the government to issue a blocking notice to the originator of the content. The provision vests ‘unguided discretion’ with the authorities regarding whether or not to issue a notice to the originator, notes the petition. 

The plea, filed through advocate Paras Nath Singh, has challenged the validity of certain provisions of the IT Rules and also sought directions for giving creators an opportunity to present their side before issuing a blocking request. 

“The challenge is not that the government does not have the power to take down information, but while taking down the information, notice should be given to the person who has put that information in the public domain,” said advocate Indira Jaising, while arguing for the petitioner. 

She said that blocking notices are being directly sent to social media platforms like X and not to content creators first. 

The petition alleges that there have been “numerous instances” of websites, apps and social media accounts being blocked without sending a notice or given an opportunity to be heard. 

“The blocking rules, 2009, in their present form, effectively allow the respondents to block online content posted by citizens without providing any rationale and without affording any chance for the owner or poster of the content to be heard,” the plea says. 

The petition also says that the current use of “blocking rules” is depriving citizens of their fundamental rights under Article 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution. An urgent intervention of the apex court is crucial to protect the fundamental right of speech and expression of citizens, which is necessary both for the liberty of individuals as well as the democratic fabric of the society, as per the plea. 

This comes close on the heels of the Centre informing the Parliament that the government blocked 18 OTT platforms last year for publishing obscene and vulgar content.