The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : USE AND ABUSE OF THE INTERNET

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Thursday, Dec 23, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

USE AND ABUSE OF THE INTERNET

THE ARREST OF the baazee.com chief, Avnish Bajaj, was an obvious instance of overreaction by the Delhi police: with the evidence having been crystallised already and he himself cooperating in the investigation, his detention was unnecessary as the Delhi High Court pointed out when releasing him on bail. The purpose of the arrest went beyond the immediate case and was clearly to demonstrate that the administration intended to act tough with everyone connected with purveying pornography on the Internet, particularly pornography involving minors. The flurry of diplomatic efforts and expressions of disapproval by business associations over the move against the head of a major auction portal are all understandable. However, the deterrent impact of the arrest on foreign investors and on business in general, important as it is, has been overdrawn to the extent that it has become the almost exclusive focus, pushing out other critical issues. The harm done by such arbitrary and unpredictable acts by the police and the prosecution to society as a whole is immense and it is indeed a sad commentary on the administrative system, which is yet to set standards and the threshold for arrest and prosecution. The larger issue is of course the selling of pornography involving two minors, an offence for which all countries show zero tolerance.

In principle, posting offensive material on the Internet is no different from publishing it in printed form, and print publications have always been held responsible for the material they publish, including third party material such as advertisements. Internet service providers have argued that they should be treated on par with common carriers such as the postal services who incur no liability for the material they carry and deliver for other parties. Yet they also have websites that publish their own as well as third party material in a form accessible to all — an activity that is hardly different from publishing in print. The sheer numbers of users, the large volume of material that makes it difficult to screen, the speed at which communication takes place, and the evolution of the Internet as a place that empowers millions of users to present their material to the world are often invoked in the argument for exempting Internet websites from liability for material from third parties.

As a concession to this argument, the Information Technology Act, 2000, which makes it an offence to publish or transmit obscene material in electronic form, exempts a network service provider from liability for any third party material that he made available if he proves that the offence was committed "without his knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence or contravention." Yet it is time those who operate publicly accessible websites assumed a greater measure of responsibility for the material they allow the users to post. For while the Internet has been a tremendous development for the good, it is not without its downside. Child pornography and other aggravated forms of pornography, hate speech, and material of use to terrorists including bomb-making instructions are all to be found there. The use of filtering software to detect offensive material and removing such material the moment it is brought to notice are the minimum that would be expected. Without a more active system of monitoring that ensures offensive material does not find its way in, the impression that the Internet is lawless and also oblivious to notions of right and wrong will only be strengthened, prompting moves for tighter regulation.

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