Opinion Filtered Web
This refers to the editorial We are the Web
Filtered Web
This refers to the editorial We are the Web (IE,December 7). Ironically,without being sure of Indias community standards or even attempting to attain a uniformity of such standards,Kapil Sibal is out to force Facebook,Google,Twitter,etc to conform to the same (or,are these his personal standards?). Such an effort could have dangerous consequences for a democracy. Even dictatorships could not really monitor personal gossip. The problem with Indias political leadership is that,instead of focusing on serious issues,it creates irrelevant ones to divert public attention from its failures.
Ved Guliani
Hisar
THIS refers to Sibal vows to clean up the Web but gets trapped in one (IE,7 December). While Kapil Sibal may have come across as too strong on the side of moral censorship of social networking sites,there is some need for these sites to be cautious about content. Its not fair to justify hate/ vilification campaigns in the name of freedom of speech. I dont detect in Sibals discussion the threat of censorship; he merely asked providers to be discerning about what they allow as site content for the sake of law and order. The vastness of the Web makes it almost impossible to police it unless we use the Chinese model of overarching firewalls,but cooperation between providers and government could make the experience better.
Suren Abreu
KAPIL SIBAL has said social networking sites should filter out objectionable and incendiary content. He has not offered any clue as to how such content should be defined. Therefore,the IT Act should have a specific definition of matters considered incendiary. Considering the huge volume of traffic on social networking sites,its difficult to put in place a regulatory mechanism. Yet,material which would hurt religious sentiment,or is defamatory,should be checked.
C. Koshy John
Time & money
A lot of time and wealth has gone down the drain due to the non-functioning of the House (A common floor,IE,December 8). Since the government has now put FDI in multi-brand retail on hold,the representatives of the people must act in a more responsible manner and take up all pending matters in the remainder of the winter session.
R.K. Kapoor Chandigarh
Dammed project
THE Mullaperiyar dam has become an emotional battle between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. All rivers that irrigate Tamil Nadu originate from neighbouring states. The disputes began after Independence,especially after the linguistic division of states. The Congress didnt evolve a national water policy for long. Tamil Nadu has been under non-Congress rule for 40-plus years,while states with which it has water disputes have strong Congress presence,which was never sincere in addressing the issue.
N. Ramamurthy
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