India on Tuesday vowed to ban offensive material from the Internet after Facebook, Google and other major firms told the government they were unable to screen content before it was posted.We go round and round about this stuff all the time.
"My aim is that insulting material never gets uploaded," Sibal told reporters in New Delhi. "We will evolve guidelines and mechanisms to deal with the issue.
"They will have to give us the data, where these images are being uploaded and who is doing it."
Sibal said the government supported free speech and was against censorship but that some material on the Internet was so offensive that no one would find it acceptable.
Let's take that last sentence:
"Sibal said the government supported free speech and was against censorship [nonsense; you want to censor something] but that some material on the Internet [what are the limits of "some" material] was so offensive [eye of the beholder, so forth] that no one would find it acceptable [define "no one." Define "acceptable"]."
Ah, the slippery language of a censor looking for someone to hang.
The goal of censors is always the same. It's not about eliminating the art/photos/text itself, it's about eliminating the person behind it. If you control language, you control thought. The ultimate power trip comes from two little words: Shut Up.
Hence, Sibal's statement: "They will have to give us the data, where these images are being uploaded and who is doing it."
You have to respect Sibal for his honesty. Canada is really no better than India in regards to censorship. Various "human rights" commissions in Canada run roughshod over free speech all the time, and drag all kinds of people into the star chamber for punishment. At least Sibal has the guts to say what he means.
In the meantime, until someone decides that Titian was way out of line and shuts down the Internet, enjoy gazing upon his Venus of Urbino (turn your head if you're offended).
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