Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Friday said fake news had drowned out true information simply by virtue of the scale of dissemination in the digital age, replacing the character of discourse from truth-seeking to the loudest voice.
“Disinformation has the power of impairing democratic discourse forever, pushing a marketplace of free ideas to the point of collapse under the immense weight of fake stories. A cursory glance at the newspaper every day will bring to the fore instances of communal and vigilante violence fuelled by fake rumours and targeted disinformation campaigns,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said in his 14th Justice V.M. Tarkunde Memorial Lecture on the topic ‘Upholding civil liberties in the digital age: Privacy, surveillance and free speech’.
The Chief Justice said freedom of speech was traditionally considered an essential part of civil rights activism for the fear that government would gag certain kinds of speech. However, he said, “with the advent of troll armies and organised disinformation campaigns across different social media platforms, the fear is that there is an overwhelming barrage of speech that distorts the truth”.
He referred to how social media has ruptured the “traditional state-activist-corporation relationship.” Civil rights activists no longer place the corporation within the traditional box of an entity whose power is to be restricted. In fact, to the contrary, they rely on social media corporations such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to expand their freedom of speech and expression, often in opposition to the government.
The flip side
However, he said there was a flip side to adopting privately owned platforms as the medium for dissent, activism, and expression of free speech. “With corporations wielding such immense power, there is an immense amount of trust placed on them to act as the arbiters of acceptable and unacceptable speech — a role that was earlier played by the state itself. This can have disastrous effects,” the Chief Justice said.
Unlike state actors who are held accountable by the Constitution and the electorate, social media platforms are relatively unregulated. This is another novel challenge that digital liberties activists have to find unique solutions to, he said.
Chief Justice Chandrachud said the concept that socio-economically disadvantaged communities place more importance on economic status and access to welfare entitlements than their civil and political rights was wrong.
“All individuals, regardless of their socio-economic status are deeply impacted by violations of the right to privacy, autonomy, and intimacy,” the CJI said. Privacy is not a privilege of the few. Individuals can and must make a choice between the right to privacy and the welfare entitlements provided by the state.
Double-edged sword
The Chief Justice portrayed technology as a double-edged sword. The dual nature of technology was apparent as a catalyst for progress while harbouring inherent privacy risks.
“Surveillance analytics, despite its benefits in healthcare and crime prevention, prompts substantial privacy concerns. Practices such as web cookies and social media data harvesting have raised alarm bells,” he noted.
He said a delicate equilibrium between privacy, surveillance, and free speech must be found especially in the vibrant tapestry of India.
“Privacy, in the digital age, is not just a matter of data protection; it is a fundamental right that we must actively champion… The digital era is a realm where information is both currency and vulnerability… The same technology that facilitates seamless transactions and connects us across distances also opens avenues for potential exploitation,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said.
The time has come to reflect on how to harness the benefits of a digitised society while safeguarding the very essence of what makes us individuals — our autonomy, personal narratives, and the right to control the narrative of our lives.
