Know the law: What to avoid on social media

Ignorance of the law is a not an excuse to be let off the hook

Update: 2014-11-20 01:53 GMT
What to avoid on social media

A tweet from Nara Lokesh, where he calls the Telangana CM, K. Chandrasekhar Rao Hitler, has landed him in trouble. One has to be extra cautious these days while sending messages or even posting on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Advocate A. Santosh Kumar says, “If you make any statements against the interest of the country or the people in power in terms of religion, region and caste, it would amount to sedition and one can even face life imprisonment.”

Here are a few do’s and don’ts that you need to check for before posting anything on social media. High Court lawyer Pappu Nageswara Rao said that while the IT Act enables a third party to lodge a complaint against an objectionable post or Tweet on social media, the police does not have the power to register a complaint of defamation based on a third party’s complaint as Section 199 CrPC mandates that only the aggrieved party can prosecute.

10 things to keep in mind before you tweet

  • Making statements that attract the Act of Sedition cannot be termed as exercising the Right to Freedom guaranteed under the Constitution of India.
  • Criticism that borders on threatening the security of the nation should be avoided.
  • One should be aware that such opinions can invite legal consequences.
  • One should also be cautious while using words like goon, rowdy, criminal, rascal, cheater, buffoon, traitor, anti-national, communal and stupid etc. Comparing someone with a dictator is also dangerous.
  • Expressions/opinions even by a layman on TV should be within permissible limits and care should be taken that it doesn’t attract any of the penal provisions of either the IT Act or Indian Penal Code.
  • Morphing pictures of celebrities, political leaders and others can land one in serious trouble.
  • Opinions against people in power or celebrities might get one into trouble faster than making comments on common people.
  • Even supporting a comment or liking a post, which is objectionable under the Act, might invite trouble.
  • Ignorance of the law is a not an excuse to be let off the hook.
  • Anyone who feels insulted by a particular post, Tweet, comment or opinion, other than the affected party, also has the right to lodge a formal complaint.

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