Need new theories to govern free speech in era of fake news on internet: CJI DY Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Friday stressed on the need for finding new theoretical frameworks to govern free speech on the internet, particularly social media..CJI Chandrachud said that with the advent of troll armies and organised disinformation campaigns on social media, there was fear of an “an overwhelming barrage of speech” that distorts the truth.In this context, he highlighted the outrageous claims made on internet when the country was trying to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic."For example, whether a religious site was desecrated or not; whether a speech was actually delivered; whether COVID-19 is caused by a virus or bacteria are all facts and not ideas or opinions, with many possible answers. I remember that while the country was faced with the tragic COVID-19 pandemic, the internet was rife with the most outrageous fake news and rumours – a source of comic relief in difficult times, but also forcing us to re-think the limits of free speech on the internet," he said.He contrasted it with traditional notions of free speech where, he said, freedom of speech and expression was deemed to be an essential part of civil rights activism because of the fear of government crackdown. The CJI was delivering the 14th Justice VM Tarkunde Memorial Lecture on the topic 'Upholding Civil Liberties in the Digital Age: Privacy, Surveillance and Free Speech'..Commenting on civil liberties in the digital age, Justice Chandrachud said the unprecedented proliferation of disinformation and hate speech on internet poses a serious challenge to the traditional ways of understanding free speech in a democracy.In the context, he said that while there was a classic state-activist-corporation relationship in traditional civil rights activism, now corporations don’t play the stereotypical role of being an entity “that needs to be constrained or viewed as complicit with the State.”“Civil rights activists no longer place the corporation within the traditional box of an entity whose power is to be restricted. In fact, to the contrary, they rely on social media corporations such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to expand their freedom of speech and expression, often in opposition to the government,” the CJI said..However, he also highlighted the flip side to the "immense amount of trust" placed by people on the privately owned platforms.It has been widely reported and recognized by the United Nations that social media was used as a tool for ethnic cleansing in Myanmar by the military and members of civil society, said the CJI.He added that social media platforms are relatively unregulated, unlike the State actors who are held accountable by the Constitution and the electorate..Speaking about privacy and State surveillance, Justice Chandrachud said courts worldwide were grappling with challenges posed by technological advancements, highlighting the crucial need for legal frameworks “prioritizing accountability, transparency, and the fundamental right to privacy.”In conclusion, the CJI said while digital liberties activism, including the protection of privacy and free speech, has gained currency at an unprecedented pace, It was still in an early period of theorizing on it.As the world moves online, our battles to uphold civil liberty must also follow suit, CJI Chandrachud said.