SC Urges Govt to Shield People From Unlawful Digital Content
Top court asks Centre to explore a URL-specific, judicially supervised mechanism to address serious online harms involving doxxing, deepfakes and misuse of children’s private information.
NEW DELHI, Aug 12: The Supreme Court has asked the Union ministries of Home Affairs and Electronics and Information Technology to urgently examine the creation of a URL-specific, judicially supervised emergency mechanism to protect citizens from serious unlawful online content.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant passed the directions while disposing of a public interest litigation filed by advocate N K Goswami. The petition raised concerns over the growing misuse of digital platforms and artificial intelligence to cause severe harm to individuals.
The bench, comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, noted that the PIL drew attention to threats involving online violence, doxxing, disclosure of minors’ private information, non-consensual intimate material, AI-generated morphed content and digitally manipulated impersonation.
The court observed that such cyber offences could have serious implications for fundamental rights, including freedom of speech, dignity, privacy and the right to life.
Goswami had urged the government to consider safeguards adopted in other jurisdictions to tackle emerging digital threats. He highlighted the need for an effective response as artificial intelligence tools become increasingly accessible and social media platforms expand their reach.
The petitioner proposed an emergency framework for dealing with situations involving specific threats, unauthorised disclosure of children’s personal information, intimate material shared without consent, deepfakes and digitally altered identities that could result in immediate and serious harm.
The proposal envisages a mechanism that would remain constitutionally compliant while providing timely protection to victims of severe online abuse.
Goswami clarified that his plea did not seek a blanket prohibition on speech or restrictions on legitimate expression. He specifically excluded political discourse, criticism, satire, parody, journalism, academic views, public-interest reporting and legal commentary from the scope of the proposed safeguards.
The petition instead focused on addressing forms of digital abuse where manipulated or unlawfully published material can pose an immediate threat to a person’s safety, privacy, dignity or reputation.
The Supreme Court’s observations come amid growing concerns over the use of artificial intelligence and digital platforms to create and circulate deceptive or harmful material. The proposed approach seeks to balance protection from serious online abuse with constitutional guarantees of free expression.
