Centre scraps plan to set up Social media hub, SC told
New Delhi, Aug 3: The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that it has abandoned its plan to set up a Social Media Communication Hub (SMCH) to track and monitor these platforms to identify "buzz creators".
Attorney General K.K. Venugopal informed a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that the government is withdrawing the proposal. Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y.Chandrachud were the other members of the bench.
The Centre's response came on a petition by Trinamool Congress MLA Mahua Moitra for stalling the Information and Broadcasting Ministry's move to keep a tab on social media platforms.
After the AG told the bench that the government was withdrawing the notification, the court disposed of the petition.
In the last hearing on July 13, Justice Chandrachud had said, "If every tweet, WhatsApp (message) is monitored, we'll be moving towards a surveillance state."
Petitioner Moitra had sought to block the request for proposal (RFP) inviting bids "for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning (SITC) of software for the hub.
The bids were to open on August 20.
The petitioner had told the court that the proposed hub violates her fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
"Such intrusive action on the part of the government is not only without the authority of law, but brazenly infringes on my fundamental right to freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution," Moitra had contended.
She had asserted that such monitoring also violates her fundamental right to privacy.
The PIL had said that "the platform is expected to provide automated reports" and in addition to it manually by a "team of 20 social media analytics executives", subject to a minimum of six reports per day, "on sentiment, reach, details related to trending about topics and hash tags as instructed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting".
In all, 716 social media executives for the 716 districts (one executive for one district) in the country were provided under the plan, expected to create "daily analysis reports incorporating local sentiment to be sent to ADG (region) and Media Hub (Command Centre)".
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I enjoy being a finisher for my team: Ashutosh Sharma
Jaipur (PTI): Delhi Capitals batting all-rounder Ashutosh Sharma said he relishes his role as a finisher after his side snapped a three-match losing streak with a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match here.
Ashutosh struck an unbeaten 25 off 15 balls, hitting four boundaries, as Delhi successfully chased down a daunting 226-run target with five balls to spare on Friday.
"I enjoy being a finisher for my team. The team has trusted me to bat in these situations and I enjoy playing in these moments. I always feel that as long as I am at the crease, I can win the game for my team," Ashutosh said at the post-match press conference.
Chasing a stiff total, Delhi were laid a solid foundation by KL Rahul and Pathum Nissanka, who stitched together a 110-run opening partnership.
"In T20 cricket nowadays, a lot depends on the opening partnership and the powerplay. Our openers played really well and because of that we were in the game throughout and could take it till the end," Ashutosh said.
Delhi’s overseas pace duo of Mitchell Starc and Kyle Jamieson had earlier set the tone by removing Rajasthan's explosive openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi inside the first two overs.
"We wanted to get their opening partnership out early, as they have been doing well in previous matches. That was our plan and it worked, which was good for us."
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals batting coach Vikram Rathour admitted that poor execution with the ball cost his side the match.
"The bowlers couldn't execute their plans again today. 226 we felt was enough on this surface, they should have been able to defend that.
"When you are defending that kind of total it is important to have a good powerplay. We gave away lots of runs and didn't take any wicket," he said.
Despite the defeat, Rathour drew positives from the batting effort, particularly the response after the early loss of openers. Skipper Riyan Parag led from the front with a 90 off 50 balls, while Dhruv Jurel contributed 42.
"We were consistently getting good starts. Both our openers were doing well for us in every match. So, this was the first time that both got out early. So as a team, I think it was important how we came out of that situation and how we played.
"The way Riyan and Jurel batted at that time, the partnership they built, and the way Donovan finished it, it was really good to see," Rathour said.
