Editor's Pick: Kerala's problematic new law

The Hindu Newsletter - Newsletter - subject [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Monday 23, November 2020 [alt_text]( Editor's Pick [Kerala's problematic new law]( [alt_text]( (The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.) The [Kerala Government has promulgated an ordinance](, which, it says, will enable the police to tackle social media abuse effectively. However, the wording of the [law appears to give the police a broad mandate over all content](, not limited to social media. This has triggered protests not only from the opposition, but from within the ruling coalition itself. The law was brought in as an amendment to the Kerala Police Act of 2011 through the Ordinance route. The new Section 118-A of the Act has under its ambit, the creation, publishing or spreading of any content that intimidate, insult or defame a person, on any mode of communication. These wordings would cover all forms of journalistic and non-journalistic publication on any platform, and not just social media. The law proposes a punishment of three years of imprisonment and a fine of ₹10,000 for those convicted. There have been [several instances recently of women being targeted on social media]( in Kerala and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has pointed to them as being the motivation for the law. However, the opposition Congress has criticised it as an attack on press freedom. [The Communist Party of India](, a partner in the ruling Left Democratic Front, has also said that it could muzzle free speech and jeopardise civil liberties. A similar provision in the Information Technology Act of 2000 was scrapped by the Supreme Court in 2015. [Section 66a of the IT Act]( had said that messages sent using a computer resource that annoy, intimidate or deceive is punishable. The apex court struck down that section in the Shreya Singhal vs Union of India case over the social media posts of two girls against a Mumbai shutdown imposed by Shiv Sena. As smartphone and internet penetration increase, the need for effective laws to tackle 'trolling' or online attacks, particularly on women, has been felt. However, the broad mandate that the new Kerala law gives the police is problematic, even though the government swears that it will be limited to the online sphere. Even online, the law stumbles into territory that the Supreme Court has already found unacceptable. These problems are what makes the story important. The Big Story [Tunnel used by Jaish militants found in Jammu]( [alt_text]( From the Front Page [alt_text]( [North T.N. to get rain from Tuesday]( [alt_text]( [Arunachal Pradesh CM pushes for highway alon](g From the Opinion Pages [alt_text]( [A leaf from Stacey Abrams’ book]( [alt_text]( [In vaccine race last lap, the key steps for India]( Today's Editorials [Peaceful possibilities: On J&K l](ocal body polls [Pressure and punishment: On conv](iction of Hafiz Saeed You are receiving this email because you are a user of [thehindu.com]( If you do not wish to receive any such emails, [unsubscribe here.](mailto:rm-0b48upr0bf2f90kaup33rtbysa8hkwc@newsalert.thehindu.com?subject=Unsubscribe&body=You will be unsubscribed from our mailing list.) To ensure you continue to receive emails from The Hindu in your inbox, please add newsletters.th@newsalert.thehindu.com to your contact. If you can't see the mailer, please [click here.]( Group Sites [The Hindu]( | [இந்து தமிழ் திசை]( | [Business Line]( | [BL on Campus]( | [Sportstar]( | [Frontline]( | [The Hindu Centre]( | [Images]( | [roofandfloor]( | [Classifieds]( Copyright @ 2020 ,THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. [About Us]( | [Contact Us]( | [Digital Subscription](