The Free Speech Tracker is a crowd-sourced research project developed by SFLC.in to track the instances of free speech violations and the laws governing free speech in India. The tracker entails publicly available data collected by volunteers with SFLC.in via various sources including news sources, court orders etc. as well as by crowd-sourcing information from the public at large and verifying it. The aim of this project is to ignite conversations around the status of free speech in India. You can read more about it in our FAQ section. The data collated under this project is not exhaustive and we urge citizens to use the reporting buttons to tell us what we have missed. We would also like to hear from you, please feel free to write to us at mail@sflc.in with any comments/suggestions/invitations for collaborations that you may have.
The free speech tracker is envisioned to be a crowd sourced initiative where citizens come together to report instances of free speech violations of both the online and offline world. We are aware that this means that our data can be incomplete, as any instance that is not reported in news, or that is reported only in regional news may slip undetected by us. To increase the accuracy of the data on this tracker, to supplement news reports and to make corrections in the data, we rely on people like you to supply us with information about free speech violations preferably with some link(s) to news reports of the violation.
The initial set of database is collected through media reports, court archives and through court proceedings. We have also filed many Right to information applications to get information from the government on issues such as website blocking. The existing data is verified and linked to sources. We believe that the tracker is work in progress and encourage citizens to report instances of free speech violations through the reporting links provided. We verify each entry that is submitted to our portal and link it to a verified source. Please write to us at mail@sflc.in with any suggestions/comments or invitations to collaborations that you may have.
19. Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech etc
(1) All citizens shall have the right
(a) to freedom of speech and expression;
(b) to assemble peaceably and without arms;
(c) to form associations or unions;
(d) to move freely throughout the territory of India;
(e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; and
(f) omitted
(g) to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business
(2) Nothing in sub clause (a) of clause ( 1 ) shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub clause in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence
(3) Nothing in sub clause (b) of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent the State from making any law imposing, in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India or public order, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub clause
(4) Nothing in sub clause (c) of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent the State from making any law imposing, in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India or public order or morality, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub clause
(5) Nothing in sub clauses (d) and (e) of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent the State from making any law imposing, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of any of the rights conferred by the said sub clauses either in the interests of the general public or for the protection of the interests of any Scheduled Tribe
(6) Nothing in sub clause (g) of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent the State from making any law imposing, in the interests of the general public, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub clause, and, in particular, nothing in the said sub clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it relates to, or prevent the State from making any law relating to,
(i) the professional or technical qualifications necessary for practising any profession or carrying on any occupation, trade or business, or
(ii) the carrying on by the State, or by a corporation owned or controlled by the State, of any trade, business, industry or service, whether to the exclusion, complete or partial, of citizens or otherwise
The Free Speech Tracker is a crowdsourced initiative started by SFLC.in to collect data on free speech violations happening across the country both online and offline. The tracker maintains databases of judgements in the free speech realm, cases that are sub-judice in court, instances of website blocking, art censorship, book bans, cases on intermediary liability etc. The tracker also provides a brief insight into provisions in Indian Laws such as the Indian Penal Code, Information Technology act which pose restrictions on free speech.
Different democracies in the world have different Laws on free speech. In the United States, the first amendment gives an absolute right to free speech, in Germany, free speech rights have certain minimum restrictions. In India, there are reasonable restrictions imposed on Freedom of Speech and Expression as well. We feel that Rights under freedom of speech and expression stated under the International Convent on Civil and Political Rights in its Article 19 are an ideal start to begin the discussion on what free speech rights should look like. India is a signatory to ICCPR as well. The rights state –
- Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
- Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.
- The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
- For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
- For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals.
Right to freedom of speech and expression is the spine of a democractic nation. A tracker like this is a mirror which shows us how deep the water is. This tracker collates information and puts it together for us to reimagine what freedom of speech and expression should look like in the 21st century. Our laws and legislations in light of the changing mediums need a re-assessment if not a complete rethink, the tracker aims to ignite that conversation. By the medium of this tracker, we would like to begin a conversation on what free speech laws in an internet enabled world should look like.
Article 12 of the Constitution of India, defines what a state is. Fundamental rights can only be exercised against the State. A private player cannot be held for the violation of free speech and expression. In our restrictive social media policies we have listed out social media policies of private players and companies as well even though citizens do not have a right against them. We feel that these social media policies deserve a re think.
We have provided reporting links on pages in this tracker. The forms are concise and take around 2-3 mins to fill. We encourage citizens providing us links through the forms for us to track down the issues. You can also send an email to us at mail@sflc.in for any suggestions/comments or invitations for collaborations.
The tracker aims to collect a vast amount of data and often through secondary sources. We are aware that this means that our data can be incomplete, as any instance that is not reported in news, or that is reported only in regional news may slip undetected by us. We encourage you to write to us at mail@sflc.in with any inconsistencies you may find and use the reporting links for any missing entries.
You can support this website by contributing in a variety of ways, both direct and indirect. You can report a violation that is not visible in our data by using our reporting links, spread the message, donate to encourage our work or even report any bugs that you find on this website. You can also write to us at mail@sflc.in with any comments/suggestions/collaborations that you have in mind. Anything you can do is appreciated. No action is too small.