The viral video from Manipur has revived the debate around the importance of an internet ban in a volatile situation like that in the northeastern state right now. On one hand, reports claimed that a piece of "fake" news triggered the May 4 incident in the Kangpokpi district, in which two women were paraded naked and assaulted. Meanwhile, it was only after the video went viral that police took action and arrested one in connection with the case. They reportedly said "lack of evidence" was one of the reasons behind delayed actions.
Meanwhile, a conundrum continues over the issue of the internet ban with many raising concerns over the state being cut off from the rest of the country. According to a Bar and Bench report, people were unable to access health care and financial services due to the internet ban. On the downside, reports about the spread of fake news continued to emerge on social media platforms.
So this brings us to these questions — Is the internet ban indeed help in curbing the spread of fake news or does it hinder the process of creating more awareness? To what extent it helps society? Is it enough to bring the situation under control?
While Professor Triveni Singh, a Superintendent of Police, Cybercrime, Uttar Pradesh, expressed faith in the government's move to ban internet in to prevent "riots" and violence, Cybercrime Consultant Mukesh Choudhary said an internet ban is not enough and that reforms are required in the Information Technology Act to bring peace in the long run.
Singh said, "Our priority is to control law and order. Internet ban is one preventive measure." When asked about the impact of the internet ban on the awareness factor, he said, "There will be collateral damages... but people's lives are more important."
Meanwhile, Choudhary said, "Everyone should have the right to use the internet. (Through the ban), circulation of certain posts, videos, images, and audios can be restricted and nothing much." Emphasising the issue with the internet ban, he cited three factors why it might be not that effective:
1.
Most of the time only the wireless internet is banned and not broadband connections. Therefore, those with broadband connections can circulate the news.
2. In many cases, they have seen some service providers not being able to ban the internet properly. Some just reduce the upload and download speed to a minimum. Some users can connect with VPN and spoof the internet ban.
3. The video/audio/image can be circulated from outside the state where the internet has been banned. In border areas, one can connect to two mobile towers - one of them might be working.
Choudhary said the internet ban is "not good for society". So what other options the government has to curb the spread of fake news? The cybercrime expert spoke about some solutions for the long term.
He highlighted the "lack of proper Acts, Sections and serious punishments" for those responsible for spreading the fake news. "People are not afraid of such situations. High penalties are not there," he added.
"Depending on the severity, appropriate sections and non-bailable sections must be included," he said while emphasising that "hardly one-two sections are non-bailable, rest all are bailable". Also, there has to be an increase in the conviction rate.
Development in the IT infrastructure was another factor he focused on. He batted for setting up a dedicated cyber patrolling cell and response teams within different departments — including the Army, the CRPF, etc — to take proactive actions against such crimes of spreading fake news.
"Cyber patrolling cell must be there at the central level and all agencies should have it. They should know what is happening and why is it happening," he said. This way, authorities would know what is happening around them and would be able to take action before the tensions flare up.
"Accordingly the information must be passed on to the intelligence agencies," he added.
He further added that The government should take strict actions against service providers because, under the IT rule 2021, the source of information should be disclosed by social media service providers.
This argument — whether social media platforms much crackdown on perpetrators — dates back to the "Right to Privacy" debate wherein Facebook-owned WhatsApp's refused to comply with India's IT Rules 2021, saying that the messages on the platform are end-to-end encrypted. The IT Rules 2021 required social media platforms to identify the "first originator of information" when government authorities demand it. Read all about the case here
"Banning the internet can never be the solution," he said. "There has to be some amendments in the Indian IT Act," he added.
Internet ban in Manipur
On May 3, when the ethnic violence first erupted, the Manipur government imposed a complete shutdown on mobile internet services across the state for five days.
The state government lifted the suspension on broadband internet conditionally in a "liberalised manner" on Tuesday (June 15), nearly three months after it was banned due to the violence in the state. However, mobile internet will remain suspended, news agency PTI cited the Home Department as saying in a notification.
"Connection will be only through static IP and the subscriber concerned shall not accept any other connection other than allowed for the time being ," it said. "No Wifi Hotspots shall be allowed from any of the routers and systems using the connection at any cost by the subscriber concerned," it said.
The government reportedly took into account the suffering of the people as the internet ban affected offices and institutions, and people working from home, besides mobile recharge, LPG cylinder booking, payment of electricity bills, and other online services, the order said. It said the suspension on broadband internet has been lifted in a liberalised manner, subject to fulfillment of several terms and conditions.
A look at laws to punish offenders
1. Whoever by making, publishing, or circulating any statement, rumour, or report which may cause fear for an alarm to the public, or to any section of the public shall be punished under section 505(1) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
2. Whoever maliciously, or wantonly, by doing anything illegal, gives provocation to any person intending or knowing it to be likely that such provocation will cause the offense of rioting to be committed will be liable for an offence under section 153 of IPC.
> Laws to control the effect of fake news
1. Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2008
2. Section 54 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005
3. Sections 153, 499 and 500, 505(1) of Indian Penal Code, 1860
(With inputs from agencies and News 18)
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