A Fine Blog

When it comes to writing articles about blog libel, ToI and ET lead the pack.

Irate college kids are blissfully venting their frustration against professors, toppers and even celebrities in a language mothers would not approve of. Corporates are hiring bloggers to abuse their rivals, in a professional fashion. They name people and indulge in online character assassination. One such paid blogger hurled a series of unmentionables in Hindi against a rival.

The option to remain anonymous only helps their cause. Recently, a man who had just started blogging found that someone else had been making unparliamentary comments on him on the blog and, strangely, in his name.

If the blogger makes a defamatory statement, both the website hosting the blog and the blogger can be held responsible. In case of obscene language or images, the blogger can be imprisoned for five years and fined Rs 1 lakh. Second conviction would double the penalty.

Also, if the blog is hosted by a server outside the country like blog.com, blogspot.com and blogger.com, there is a clause in the IT Act. It states that if any person committing an offence is stationed outside India, but the effects are felt in the country, he can be held. But implementation, say experts, becomes difficult due to geographical reasons.

The article doesn’t give any reference to the defamation and slander charges and hence we are not in a position to decide whether they are real or cooked up. This is very much consistent with past ToI & ET articles on blogging.