Laws of expression or silence?
The Government of Karnataka has proposed a Misinformation and Fake News (Prohibition) Act, which will crack down on digital content, making punishable by law, posts that are deemed offensive. What constitutes offense is a varied and possibly contradictory mix: 'anti-feminist', 'disrespectful of Sanatan symbols', 'obscene', 'promotes superstition' and 'abusive' are among the phrases listed in coverage of the proposed Act, which has been in the works for two years. Should it be passed, those found guilty will face jail terms of up to seven years and fines of up to `10 lakh.
A major red flag in the proposed Karnataka Misinformation and Fake News (Prohibition) Act is the inclusion of the term 'anti-feminist'. What does misogyny really mean in the context of protecting organised religion? The possibilities for interpretation are very broad. Would, say, an action like a public figure choosing to wear Western attire to her own wedding be deliberately read as an insult to womanly values as per the establishment?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Builders hail building regulations, seek amendments to NALA Act
Small-scale builders and owners of LIG category residential buildings will benefit the most from the key amendments in the Andhra Pradesh Building Rules, 2017 approved by the State Cabinet, sources in the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) said. This means that builders of structures up to G+4 categories or flats under 300-400 sq m will have ample options and relief from some restrictions, thereby helping them join the real estate and urban development sector in cities like Visakhapatnam. However, builders have expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of clarity on the Non-Agricultural Land Assessment (NALA) Act. As per the statements made by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on several occasions, including the third District Collectors' meeting held in March, the NALA Act is expected to be repealed, citing it as a major impediment to urban and real estate development. 'We have come to know that the government is discussing the implementation of 4% charges for land conversion (agriculture to commercial) under the NALA Act, instead of 5% charged by the previous government. We want the Act abolished. We have urged the government to amend the law on land conversion in terms of acres instead of square yards in urban areas. This will be beneficial to urban developers. We are not worried about 4% or 5% charges for conversion,' said a senior builder on the condition of anonymity on Wednesday. In Visakhapatnam, the real estate sector has an annual turnover of around ₹700 to ₹800 crore. It is expected to touch ₹1,000 crore mark annually. This will be possible if the government accelerates projects like operation of software companies, employment generation and flow of financial transactions. The GVMC and VMRDA should complete the master plan roads and projects as soon as possible, they said. 'We discussed the need for basic completion of roads with the GVMC Commissioner. We are expecting a boost in the real estate sector as the market has been sluggish for the last 18 months. Approximately 10,000 residential units still remain vacant due to no sale. Now, the market is gaining some momentum,' said CREDAI city president E. Ashok Kumar.
Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
Trump says US to hold nuclear talks with Iran next week amid Israel-Iran ceasefire
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he doesn't think a nuclear deal with Iran is necessary, though he would like to seek a commitment from Iran that it would end its nuclear ambitions at US-Iran talks scheduled to take place next. While crediting US strikes on Tehran's nuclear sites as the reason for bringing a swift end to the conflict between Israel and Iran, Trump said his decision to use bunker busting bombs via B-2 Spirit stealth bombers 'completely destroyed and obliterated' Iran's nuclear program and called the outcome 'victory for everybody'. 'It was very severe, it was obliteration,' Trump said while rejecting a report prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the intelligence arm of the Pentagon which stated that American strikes on Tehran's nuclear sites on June 20 did not damage the core components of Iran's nuclear programme but has only set it back by months. The world is far safer after President Donald J. Trump's highly successful, decisive precision strikes against the Iranian regime's key nuclear facilities. 🔥 Take it from those who actually know. ⤵️ — The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 25, 2025 Speaking at the NATO Summit in The Hague, Trump said he doesn't see Iran engaging in nuclear weapons development again after the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict and US strikes on three key nuclear sites in Tehran. Though the Islamic Republic has long denied Western accusations that it is seeking nuclear arms, rather has stated that its nuclear program is a peaceful process. Meanwhile, Iranian and Israeli people resorted to resume their normal life after the 12-day conflict which is dubbed as the most severe and intense confrontation between the two foes, until a ceasefire took place on Tuesday which was mediated by President Trump and Qatar. 'We're going to talk to them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement. I don't know. To me, I don't think it's that necessary,' Trump said. The US president added that Iran would want to recover from the recently concluded conflict and would not enrich anything for now, referring to Western accusations that Iran has been enriching uranium to a purity level where it can manufacture nuclear weapons. Later, the US Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement that the American air strikes had 'severely damaged' Iran's nuclear program.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Tech lobby group urges EU leaders to pause AI Act
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills Tech lobbying group CCIA Europe , whose members include Alphabet , Meta and Apple, on Thursday urged European Union to pause implementation of the AI Act , saying a rushed roll-out risks jeopardizing the continent's AI landmark AI rules entered into force in June last year with various provisions to be implemented in a phased provisions of the EU AI Act, including rules for general purpose AI (GPAI) models, were due to apply on August 2. But some parts of the GPAI, which were expected to be published on May 2, got delayed."With critical parts of the AI Act still missing just weeks before rules kick in, we need a pause to get the Act right, or risk stalling innovation altogether," said Daniel Friedlaender, CCIA Europe's senior vice leaders such as Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson have also called AI rules "confusing" and asked the EU to pause the Act, ahead of a meeting with other EU leaders in Brussels on than two-thirds of European businesses said they struggle to understand their responsibilities under the EU AI Act, according to a survey by Amazon Web EU AI Act is more comprehensive than the United States' light-touch voluntary compliance approach while China's approach aims to maintain social stability and state control."We are currently implementing the AI Act," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen told EU lawmakers earlier this month when asked if she would consider a temporary halt to enforcing the AI Act."I want to implement it in a very innovation friendly manner ... the main concern among some stakeholders is that this is hindering innovations."
