In Focus by The Hindu In Focus-Parley | Should commercial speech on digital platforms be regulated?
Sep 4, 2025
Apar Gupta, Advocate and Founder Director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, and Jay Vinayak Ojha, Senior Resident Fellow at the Viti Center for Legal Policy, dive into the contentious issue of regulating commercial speech on digital platforms. They discuss the recent Supreme Court directive urging guidelines to protect vulnerable groups from offensive content. Key topics include the balance between free speech and societal responsibility, the complexities of online content moderation, and the importance of inclusive stakeholder consultation in shaping effective digital regulations.
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No Vacuum, Just Anxiety
- There is already criminal and takedown law that applies to online speech, so a legal vacuum is overstated.
- The Court's anxiety seems driven more by moral sentiment than by a lack of legal tools.
Court As Policy Actor
- The Supreme Court has long expanded its role beyond ordinary dispute resolution into public policy.
- This makes it hard to label recent directions as sheer overreach given institutional precedent.
Limits Of 'Reasonable' Restrictions
- Reasonable restrictions must be lawful, procedurally valid, and proportionate to grounds in Article 19(2).
- Using subjective 'hurt sentiments' or dignity as freestanding grounds risks broad censorship.