Social Media Governance

टेलीग्राम के CEO की गिरफ़्तारी, क्या बंद हो जाएगी कंपनी  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyHelpl5_TA Aug 28, 2024
टेलीग्राम के सीईओ पावेल ड्यूरोव को रिहा कर दिया गया है मगर उनकी गिरफ़्तारी के बाद से अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता के भविष्य को लेकर बहस हो रही है। सोशल मीडिया साइट को लेकर यह नया मामला है जिसे लेकर दुनिया भर में चर्चा हो रही है। पूछा जा रहा है कि क्या सरकारें अब इस बात से बेपरवाह हो गई हैं? उन्हें कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता कि पत्रकारों और सोशल मीडिया साइट को बंद करने से जनता क्या सोचेगी? टेलीग्राम के CEO की गिरफ़्तारी पर हमारा यह वीडियो देखिएगा।

How Telegram’s Founder Went From Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg to Wanted Man https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/26/technology/pavel-durov-telegram-founder.html Mr. Durov’s anti-establishment streak appears to have gotten him into a fresh round of trouble with the authorities. On Saturday, he was arrested in France as part of an investigation into criminal activity on Telegram, the online communications tool he founded in 2013, which had grown into a global platform defined by its hands-off approach to policing how users behaved.

In September 2025, the Karnataka high court delivered a judgment that could redefine how India governs its digital space. In X Corp versus Union of India, the court upheld the Union government’s Sahyog portal, an online system that allows central and state authorities, including police officers, to issue content-removal directions under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Rule 3(1)(d) of the Intermediary Guidelines, 2021. https://thewire.in/tech/indias-digital-paradox-when-both-copyright-and-free-speech-lose 

The court rejected X Corp’s argument that Sahyog circumvents Section 69A of the Act, which regulates blocking orders and prescribes safeguards such as written reasons, notice, and review. Calling Sahyog merely a “facilitation mechanism,” the high court judges held that it only streamlines communication between the government and online platforms

X Corp has announced plans to appeal, warning that the ruling empowers “millions of officers” to demand takedowns without oversight, enabling arbitrary censorship. The decision has revived a broader debate about the design of India’s takedown regimes. While Sahyog expands executive power to suppress speech, the other major takedown system meant to protect artists from copyright infringement remains largely ineffective. One framework is too weak to protect creators while the other is too strong to protect citizens.

by Anushri Shukla

12/11/2025

A two-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court is now hearing a challenge filed by Proton AG, the Swiss company that runs the encrypted email service, Proton Mail. On April 29, a single judge of the high court had directed the Union government to block the service in India, setting off a wave of criticism from digital rights advocates. https://scroll.in/article/1084862/why-a-court-ban-on-encrypted-email-service-proton-mail-has-sparked-digital-privacy-fears 

Many of them told Scroll that the court’s ban set a dangerous precedent that threatens the privacy of whistle-blowers, activists, journalists, and others who rely on encryption for more secure communications.

The case began when a Bengaluru-based organisation approached the High Court after some of its female employees were subjected to prolonged online harassment. The company received a torrent of emails from two Proton Mail accounts containing obscene and abusive content, including morphed images of the employees.

The company filed a police complaint and reached out to Proton Mail’s abuse team. While Proton disabled the offending accounts, it could not provide the company personally identifiable details of the sender of the mail. 

Justice M Nagaprasanna took a stern view of the matter in his judgment. Describing the situation as a “menace”, he noted that Proton Mail had also been used to send bomb threats to schools and even to the Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Concluding that the court could not remain a “mute spectator”, the judge directed the Union government to initiate proceedings to block Proton Mail in India under the Information Technology Act.

by Vineet Bhalla

28/07/2025

WhatsApp told the Delhi high court on Thursday that if it is made to break encryption of messages, then the social message platform will stop functioning. https://www.rediff.com/news/report/whatsapp-would-cease-to-exist-if/20240426.htm

The court is hearing petitions filed by WhatsApp LLC and its parent company Facebook Inc (now Meta), challenging the 2021 Information Technology rules for social media intermediaries requiring the messaging app to trace chats and make provisions to identify the first originator of information, for hearing on August 14.

by Bhavini Mishra

26/04/2024