Internet is a huge resource of communication for people not only across India but also across the globe. More than 95% of corporate houses use the internet as a medium of doing business with business houses all over the world.

As the number of internet users is growing so is the size of the internet content space. Websites are adding new and updated content on their websites each day and many websites even write about the current affairs that take place across the globe. Today, the internet has become a source of news and information along with a mode of entertainment and communication. The internet is now partly known as online media.

As previously known, there are laws that restrict the press from publishing anything that is not factual. The members of the Indian parliament notably MP’s have setup a committee who are compiling a lists of regulations to regulate the content on the internet and imposing fines/jail terms on Internet Service Providers (ISP) for allowing copyrighted content to be downloaded and violated. However, as The Times Of India reports that approximately 85 % of the content on the internet is third party content. The Times Of India was quoted in its report as “Perhaps the committee is confusing internet with media like TV and Print” . The truth is that regulating content on the internet is a tedious job at the moment as third party content is difficult to control it.

Here’s what the Resident Editor of Times of India has to say:

There is a clear and present danger to internet in India. If the recommendations of the parliamentary standing committee were to go through, you might as well pull the shutters down on the net in the country, because the committee seeks to raise the liability of internet service providers for any third party content in a manner that it will become difficult to run the service and stay away from jail. Read More

The result of these regulations can certainly kill the internet as the ISP’s will be held responsible for violation of copyrighted content. And with the likes of Orkut, Rediff Ishare, Youtube, Flickr and 10000’s of blogs which violate copyrights as they are filled with user generated content I wonder how this law if it comes into place would be implemented.

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