In its attempt to regulate content on the internet the Indian state is increasingly making demands on intermediaries to monitor and screen content. This will lead to private, invisible censorship, thereby severely endangering the exercise of our right to freedom of speech and expression. India, like most jurisdictions recognising the role of intermediaries in providing platforms of free speech, has incorporated a safe harbour provision in order to limit their liability. But legislative ambiguities, coupled with the onerous obligations imposed on intermediaries, threaten to defeat the purpose of providing safe harbour protection. Further, a recent spate of judicial decisions that endorse overbroad filtering without taking into account its chilling effects on free speech, highlights a need for immediate changes in the legislative and judicial approach towards intermediary liability in India.
