Last week, the CTOForum held a poll to understand IT decision makers' views of Mr. Kapil Sibals plans to regulate social networks. 80% of the respondents on the poll did not support Mr. Sibal's views on censoring inappropriate content on social networks.

CTOForum Poll Results (Above)

According to a recent article by the Times of India, Mr. Sibal's views have been criticised by UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon. "Many of the people seeking their legitimate aspirations were linked through social media. Gone are the days when repressive governments could control the flow of information. Today, within their existing obligation to respect the rights of freedom of assembly and expression, governments must not block access to the internet and various forms of social media as a way to prevent criticism and public debate." While he did not name India or Kapil Sibal, the implications of his remarks are apparent [Excerpt from the Times Article].

In our conversations with It decision makers, Mr. Prakash Kumar, Head-IT at Delta electronics India mentioned, "This is another gimmick from congress without any deliberations or pre-thought on its implementation and post implementation impacts. This would be another big error on the part of govt if it goes ahead with its regulations. I think they need to understand that this not nipping the bud but cutting a full blown rose."

"I really wonder how this could be implemented. Internet knows no boundary.What about comments which are written by the people sitting out of india. Making Google, Twitter etc responsible for the content is like making a telecom company responsible for misuse of Mobile. They better work in making our laws better to deal with such problems," said Sandeep Walia,AGM (Information Security), Hindustan Times.

Social networks currently are abuzz with posts criticizing Mr. Sibal's demands considering the entire concept of filtering the internet goes against the fundamentals pillars of the internet and not to mention steps on the toes of democracy and freedom of speech.

While Mr. Sibal's demands seem somewhat relevant from a socio-economic perspective, any sort of absolution may not be the answer here. India as a country is filled with communal tension and posts directed towards certain religious sects have apppeared on social platforms and could also create instances of communal tension.

However, this is a topic that needs clear strategy and intellectual debate, as opposed to absolute decisions being made on behalf of the government.  Since these platforms are places where citizens come together, a decision must be reached by using social methodologies that are agreeable by all parties.