Modi government’s plan to regulate social media because it is causing “unimaginable disruption” to democracy and threatens sovereignty and security runs counter to the very principle of internet-based communications in the 21st century. Fighting fake news and rumours should not be turned into an excuse for expanding surveillance on citizens.
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A mature, self confident, strong democratic nation should not give in to paranoia. It is true that there is a lot of toxic sludge sloshing around on social media, which can cause social strife and violence. Also reams of false / fake / misleading news and reports. However, the bulk of it seems to be coming from the right hand side.