Legal Provisions for Online Journalism: An Overview
- Samrudh Kopparam, Jindal Global Law School
- December 20, 2020
Content :
In simplicity, a democratic society is an ecosystem wherein power and civic responsibilities are exercised by all citizens directly or through legitimately elected representatives, thus media through journalism plays an essential role as the ‘fourth pillar’ of democracy by giving voice to the people and ensuring active and vigilant participation. Journalism has the power to sway, manipulate, and revolutionize the masses either positively or negatively, thus it is essential to have a legal framework to protect ‘journalists’, so they can actively exercise their right to freedom of speech. Free media being the sine qua non to democracy , online platforms become essential as a medium to not only express one’s opinions and views, but it is also instrumental for building point of views and thoughts on numerous topics of regional, national and international interests, thus, calling for additional safeguards. Through a ‘twin approach’ in this paper, we shall analyze the meritocracy of journalism in an online sphere, legal provisions facilitating such journalism, impediments, case studies, and lastly the move forward for a more democratic society.
Keywords: Online Journalism, Digital, Harass, Media, Democratic society, Social
