Page 2 - Freedom Of Speech

Pre-trial injunction on article publication may hit freedom of speech: SC

It emphasised that courts must be cautious in passing injunction orders to restrain the publication of articles, particularly when it is yet to be proved whether the content of such articles is false

Editors Guild welcomes Supreme Court stay on PIB's fact-checking unit

Editors Guild of India on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court's order staying the Centre's notification setting up a fact-checking unit under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to identify fake news about the Central government. The fact check unit was notified on March 20 under Information Technology Rules, 2021, by the Ministry of Electronics and IT, amid concerns voiced by civil society groups and media outlets about the possibility of its misuse for potential censorship. "EGI welcomes the stay on the Fact Checking Unit under the IT Rules 2021, by the Supreme Court of India," the Guild said in a statement here. The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the notification setting up a fact-checking unit under the PIB to identify fake news about the Union government.

Disney-Desantis row: Company appeals dismissal of its free speech lawsuit

Disney on Thursday appealed a judge's dismissal of its free speech lawsuit over what it described as Governor Ron DeSantis' retaliatory takeover of Walt Disney World's governing district, as the Florida governor separately called any appeal "a mistake." "They were wrong and we were right," DeSantis said at a news conference in Jacksonville a day after the ruling. "They should move on." Disney filed a notice of appeal over Wednesday's ruling by a federal judge in Tallahassee, saying that it would set a dangerous precedent if left unchallenged by giving states the green light to weaponize their powers to punish opposing viewpoints. A separate lawsuit over who controls the district also is still pending in state court in Orlando. Disney had argued that legislation signed by DeSantis and passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature transferring control of the Disney World governing district from Disney supporters to DeSantis appointees was in retaliation for the company publicly ...

Federal judge dismisses Disney's free speech lawsuit against DeSantis

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed Disney's free speech lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, leaving the company's remaining hopes of regaining control of the district that governs Walt Disney World to a separate state court challenge. US District Judge Allen Winsor in Tallahassee said in his decision that Disney lacked standing in its First Amendment lawsuit against the Republican governor, the secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and DeSantis' appointees to the Disney World governing district. The separate lawsuit is still pending in state court in Orlando. Disney had argued that legislation signed by DeSantis and passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature that transferred control of the Disney World governing district from Disney supporters to DeSantis appointees was in retaliation for the company publicly opposing the state's so-called don't say gay law. That 2022 law banned classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in .

More arrests reported as Belarus intensifies crackdown on dissent

A rights group on Thursday reported dozens more home raids and arrests across Belarus in the latest intensification of a years-long crackdown on dissent in the country of 9.5 million people. The Viasna human rights centre said it knew of at least 159 people targeted by searches and detentions in multiple Belarusian cities, including the capital, Minsk. Those targeted by authorities included relatives of jailed dissidents, journalists and others, it said. Leaders of Belarusian opposition have called the new wave of arrests, which is the biggest in recent months, "a blow to the solidarity within the country". According to Viasna, there are 1,419 political prisoners now held in Belarus. Many of those detained Thursday and earlier in the week had been helping families of those jailed for political reasons. Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko unleashed an unrelenting crackdown on dissent in August 2020, after an election the opposition and the West denounced as a sham gave him

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Freedom of speech & expression can't go beyond limits of reasonableness: HC

Freedom of speech and expression cannot be allowed to go beyond the limits of reasonableness otherwise it could lead to disastrous consequences, the Bombay High Court has said. A single bench of Justice Milind Jadhav made the observation on Tuesday while upholding the termination of service of an employee with Hitachi Astemo Fie, an auto parts manufacturing company. The employee was terminated after he uploaded two posts of Facebook against the company. The company had approached the HC challenging an order of a labour court reversing the termination of the employee for putting provocative posts against Hitachi. Justice Jadhav in the order said the posts were directed against the company with a clear intent to incite hatred and were provocative. "A strong message needs to be sent out against such acts," the court said adding such acts should be nipped in the bud. "Freedom of speech and expression cannot be allowed to be transgressed beyond reasonableness. If that is allowed, it c

NewsClick row: SC seeks Delhi Police's reply on pleas of portal founder

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought response of the Delhi Police on pleas of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and its HR head Amit Chakravarty against their arrest under anti-terror law UAPA. A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra issued notice to the Delhi Police and sought its response by October 30 after senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Devadatt Kamat, appearing for Purkayastha and Chakravarty, respectively, said they are in jail and the pleas be heard early. On October 16, the top court agreed to list the matter urgently after Sibal mentioned it before the bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. The CJI had asked Sibal to circulate the case papers and said he would take a call on urgent listing of the matter. The Delhi High Court had on October 13 dismissed their pleas against arrest and subsequent police remand in the case. Both were arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on October 3. They subsequently moved the high court challenging th

We don't think freedom of speech extends to incitement to violence: EAM

He further posed a question, asking how other countries would react if they were in India's position, with their diplomats, embassies, and citizens facing intimidation

Cong seeking refuge behind Freedom of Speech: Himanta on Sanatan Dharma row

The Assam CM accused the Congress of being "a key conspirator in the 'Annihilation of Sanatan Dharma' gang"

Press Club of India condemns journalist's murder in Bihar's Araria

The Press Club of India on Saturday condemned the killing of a reporter of a Hindi daily in Araria town of Bihar. Vimal Kumar Yadav (35), who worked for a Hindi daily, was killed at his residence in Premnagar village on Friday. "The impunity with which such attacks on journalists are carried out is unacceptable and must be addressed effectively," the Press Club of India said in a statement here.

Ashoka resignation row: Faculty demand panel on Academic Freedom be set up

A group of faculty members of Ashoka University has written to its vice chancellor claiming that free thought within universities in India is in crisis today and demanded that all decisions on matters related to academic freedom should be put on hold till the promised committee for academic freedom is in place. The letter comes following the resignation of assistant professor Sabyasachi Das after a controversy over his research paper which argued that the BJP won a disproportionate share of closely contested parliamentary seats in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, especially in states where it was the ruling party at the time. While another professor Pulapre Balakrishnan has put in his papers in support of Das, the faculty members from Economics, Political Science, English and creative writing departments have have written to the governing body threatening a faculty exodus if Das is not offered reinstatement. The faculty members have also warned of stopping teaching till their demands are ...

Judge blocks US govt from working with social media cos on protected speech

A judge on Tuesday prohibited several federal agencies and officials of the Biden administration from working with social media companies about protected speech, a decision called a blow to censorship by one of the Republican officials whose lawsuit prompted the ruling. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty of Louisiana granted the injunction in response to a 2022 lawsuit brought by attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri. Their lawsuit alleged that the federal government overstepped in its efforts to convince social media companies to address postings that could result in vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic or affect elections. Doughty cited substantial evidence of a far-reaching censorship campaign. He wrote that the evidence produced thus far depicts an almost dystopian scenario. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period perhaps best characterised by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian Ministry

Not PIB, MeitY-led team may scrutinise news items to mark them as fake news

The decision drew harsh criticism from the supporters of free speech in the country

Freedom of speech cannot be 'armour for abuse': Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

Senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Friday said freedom of speech cannot be an "armour for abuse" and it should be used as a "hero" of harmony to defeat hatred. The former Union minister said the "merchants of communal votes" are involved in "nefarious designs" to damage the country's legacy of inclusivity, and such elements should be defeated with the strength of unity and brotherhood. Addressing the 'Samajik Samrasta Sammelan', organised by the Bharatiya Bauddh Sangh at the Vigyan Bhawan here on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, Naqvi said people must use freedom of expression as a "hero" of harmony to defeat the "villain" of hatred. He said the constitutional freedom of speech cannot be an "armour for anarchy and abuse". Naqvi said Gautam Buddha was the "flag bearer" of social harmony and inclusive cultural commitment. His teachings and principles are an effective solution to problems of the world and the entire humanity, he added. Gautam Buddha was an apostle of social unit

New IT Rules: 16 groups join hands against govt-run fact-checking unit

The groups said that the new IT Rules would censor journalism and severely jeopardise freedom of expression

Shrinking space

Freedom of speech must be protected

Cong's Tewari gives adjournment notice in LS to discuss Freedom of Speech

Congress MP Manish Tewari gave an adjournment notice in Lok Sabha to have a discussion on the essence, substance and spirit of Freedom of Speech accorded to Members of Parliament

Tewari moves adjournment notice in LS to discuss freedom of speech to MPs

He said that the House should suspend Zero Hour and other businesses of the day to have a detailed discussion on the issue

Safety, trust can't be sacrificed at altar of freedom of speech: MoS

Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday asserted that freedom of speech cannot be a cover for criminality, illegality and user harm, and emphasised that intermediaries have to be accountable for the content on their platforms. The minister was addressing the valedictory session of the National Conference on Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) organised by the National Human Rights Commission in New Delhi. Chandrasekhar made it clear that safety and trust cannot be sacrificed at the altar of freedom of speech and privacy, according to an official release. "For decades the model that was followed was that intermediaries were not accountable about the content on their platforms, and encouraged anonymity to prevent traceability of the illegal content. This helped the proliferation of child sexual abuse and other illegalities on the internet," Chandrasekhar said. An intermediary wanting to do business in India is under obligation to carry out due diligence