Union minister Maneka Gandhi’s step to set up a dedicated cell to combat online trolling of women has received a mixed response on social media platforms
In a first such attempt by the government to directly address the menace of trolling, Union minister for women and child development, Maneka Gandhi set up a cell to receive complaints and monitor trolling against women on social media. While comments welcoming the move poured in from all quarters, in an ironic turn, Maneka herself became a subject of trolling over the move and received backlash from various quarters with some expressing that such comments or trolls were part of social media, and even going so far as asking Maneka to ‘leave the kitchen, if she can’t stand the heat’. While the backlash only strengthened the need for such efforts to combat vicious trolls, many others raised reservations about portraying trolling as a women’s issue alone or the implications it will have on freedom of expression.
However, in light of events in recent past including the numerous publicly issued rape and death threats to singer Sona Mohapatra or the suicide of a Chennai teen following an incident where morphed naked images of her were posted online, the move has established the government’s intent to tackle the menace. The question that remains, however, is about its effectiveness. We spoke to a range of people from celebrities who’ve been victims of trolling to folks who are active on social media on how fruitful the move will prove to be and what implications it will have on social media.
Sona Mohapatra, singer: The starting for any solution is an acknowledgement of an issue and I am happy to have become one of the triggers to this conversation across the country. Having said that, it is only a starting point and as of now I haven’t noticed any change since I continue to be trolled, despite having reported the matter to Twitter, registered an FIR and having followed all the guidelines that a citizen can. It has been a good 21 days since this harassment started. Suspending twitter accounts is not the solution, nor is monitoring the Internet.
I am not suggesting that we get paranoid and start tracking every vile remark made on the Internet. There is a line and one that is pretty clear that ought not be crossed. In my case this included, gang rape threats, morphed vulgar pictures, death threats and threats of extreme violence. For what needs to be done, I believe that Twitter, (like Facebook) can initiate stricter community guideline, have algorithms in place to ensure targeted harassment, threats and such are filtered out. I do believe that this government is in the best position to deal with this menace, being seriously adept in using digital media. Passing on the responsibility to NCW doesn’t make any sense, unless they are well-equipped.
Karan Talwar: The problem is that this is not an issue that one can demarcate as black and white. When you say you want to deal with ‘trolls’, it needs to be clearly explained who you are talking about. There are several times when comedians are tagged as trolls online because they poked fun at some famous personality or idol on whose behalf some people take offence. There are genuine cases, such as Sona Mohapatra or Mandira Bedi’s where the online trolling has taken a physical form with serious threats. And these need to be seriously dealt with, but one also needs to define who it is we are targeting. This move is absolutely misplaced because it doesn’t understand the real problem. The laws governing such aspects are antiquated and need to be changed. Without doing so, there is no point in setting up a cell.
Kamaal R Khan: Who is Maneka Gandhi to make such decisions The law courts are there to take care of these disputes. She can’t have any say over the law. Also, why should the system only be there for women If someone trolls SRK or Salman Khan or Amitabh Bachchan, as they are doing all the time, then they will be just as harassed as a woman. Anyway, the idea falls flat because, how will you find these people. If a Rahul Gandhi were to give gali to someone you could catch him. But then why would he The people who actually write vicious comments have anonymous accounts or fake accounts. If the police were to try and track every twitter user, it would become a full-time job.
Ashvin Vinayan, voice artist and Twitter user I don’t believe it curbs freedom of expression per se, but I do believe it can be easily misconstrued or manipulated. Also the fact that the initiative is strictly women centric, whereas Internet harassment isn’t gender specific, doesn’t help.
Internet harassment needs to be dealt with as a culpable criminal offence. I personally have seen men dish out rape and assault threats to people with perspectives that contradict their own. But it could also mean that facetious or ironic remarks could get someone jailed. Men could start thinking twice before contradicting or even wanting to indulge in a healthy debate upon fear of offending. A specific definition of ‘trolling’ might help the cause, though. Healthy, harmless trollers need to be spared the brunt. The purpose of an open forum would be lost, otherwise.
Mayank Shekhar: I am glad that Maneka Gandhi raised this issue because it is definitely a very real problem. However, I think that the solution that she has come up with is very hard to practically follow up on because of the sheer multitude of people on Twitter and Facebook.
If I were to write something that would defame someone in a newspaper, such as the kinds of things KRK said about Vikram Bhatt, I would be sued for defamation. The same should be the case for something I publish on Twitter. If I threaten or intimidate someone offline, action will be taken against me. The same laws apply online.
The laws are already very clear on this. There is also no real difference here between men and women — both are susceptible to cyber abuse. I believe that these cases need to be brought up in front of the cyber police and dealt with on that level.
Lakshmi Bharathi (Banker and active Twitter user) I think that women need to be more proactive when it comes to their protection. A lot of women don’t speak up when they face abuse online. In that way, maybe this forum may help women to be gutsier and speak out.
On the other hand, I don’t know how much this is going to be possible practically since Maneka would need a lot of manpower. I think it would be best if she simply works with existing cyber crime factions which already exist rather than try to create a whole new machinery herself.
Also, I think that there needs to be some kind of demarcation system. Someone who passes a comment is not the same as some cyber stalker or someone who is truly harassing people online. There should not be disciplinary action taken just because someone passes a comment. A warning for a repeat offender might be necessary though.
Shreejith Nair (Entrepreneur and active Twitter user) It will definitely have a positive result as all those who have been heinously wronged can now directly approach the Union minister, seeking justice. But I believe it is unfair that access to this initiative has been extended to women alone, when trolling/abuse/harassment is not limited to women on the Internet.
Again, our right to freedom of expression and speech is conditional and is open to interpretation. If a parody account or a harmless troll offends someone, then they can move this cell to put such trolls in the category of abusers and harassers. To prevent it, the right to freedom of expression and speech should have been made unconditional. Nobody should get to decide what is offensive and what isn’t, but that will never happen here.
