The Kerala government could soon be able to penalise or imprison someone not just for posting abusive or defamatory content, but for even circulating it on social media. The state cabinet on Wednesday decided to bring in an ordinance to amend Kerala's Police Act, under which people posting, publishing or circulating such content on social media can be jailed for upto five years, and fined up to ₹10,000. The state government's argument is that this change has become necessary because of the rise in crime on social media, however, civil society activists fear that this could have a chilling effect on online speech. The Kerala Cabinet's statement has been issued in Malayalam. Per an English translation by The News Minute, the Cabinet seems to be signalling that even those who aren't direct creators of such objectionable content can be held legally liable for it. The key word here is "propagate" (or "circulate", according to other translations) — for instance, even the act of liking a Facebook post, or retweeting can be construed as circulation or propagation. "Anyone who produces content, publishes or propagates it through any means of communication with an intention to threaten, insult or harm the reputation of an individual, they will be liable to receive a five-year sentence, Rs 10,000 as fine, or both" — Kerala Cabinet's proposed amendment to the Police Act (English translation) The proposed change — planned as the addition of a new Section 118-A to the Act — is quite similar to provisions in the Section…
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