Constitutional Constraints and Legislative Approaches to the Legal Regulation of Social Media Platforms

Abstract

The paper highlights that despite the unavailability of specific legislation regulating Social Media laws in India, whatever regulations are available, they navigate through the constitutional constraints set by the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution and other legislations. However, this right is not absolute and is subject to "reasonable restrictions" under Article 19(2), which includes concerns related to sovereignty, integrity, security of India, public order, and decency. Legislative approaches, such as the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, have been introduced to hold social media platforms accountable for the content hosted on their platforms.