[prateek_mir]

Not a freedom of speech issue. whatsapp messages spread quite virally. A large number of users of such services who have got access to mobile internet quite recently are susceptible to take a spam/hoax message as an authentic piece of information, specially the ones which can directly affect the person. Also, you need to keep in mind that services like whatsapp have become a significant source of information for many people.

A large number of such messages that I have come across are photoshopped images, mix it with the ease of sending bulk messages and you get an explosive mixture.

One way to tackle such situation will be, IMO, to make bulk messaging an expensive (computationally) operation, something of the nature of HashCash.

[ypcx]

No, no government should ever be able to do this. Why? Because when you track it down to the person getting the switch flipped, it is always someone with an interest not serving the whole, a.k.a. private interest. And the government should serve the whole, otherwise it is oppressing a part.

And in regards to your argument — the longer you keep the immune system from exposure to a threat — the longer you allow the threat to evolve and become even more dangerous. Let the people learn what is hoax and fake. Yes, they are perfectly able to do that.

[Sven7]

The threat is a large mass of illiterate people being riled up by inflammatory rumors they see on their phone. They aren't the kind of people who know what the words "fact check" means.

Add to that a semi-educated police force and you end up with 3 people dead and a whole bunch of public infrastructure burning.

If you are in government, you don't really have the option to call the protesters in to have a nuanced debate.

[selimthegrim]

I look forward to Gujarat experiencing, like Punjab, the tender mercies of AFSPA (sarcastic, I don't wish that law upon anyone)

[prateek_mir]

This is not a lot of oppressed people standing up for their civil rights. The issue is very different than that. More over, the size of crowd is way to large for the law enforcement to handle swiftly.

This is not a flashpoint event, huge number of people were mobilized from the neighboring states for the main rally that took place before the violence broke. (the number of people gathered there were more than 100K, and this will a very conservative estimate)

In such a politically charged environment, the spamming ease becomes a real threat to the law and order, and above all, to human lives.

I would very much like the system to evolve, but not at the expense of innocent lives.

[kang]

Somebody threw acid on a girl's face. Indian govt's response, forget the criminal, ban acid sale.

The same always. Definitely a freedom-of-speech issue, but nothing new.

[notfoss]

While I don't quite agree with the ban on acid sale, please don't make it sound as if it happened due to a single instance of an acid attack.

This had become a regular occurrence and the government only acted due to increasing number of such cases.

[kang]

Even if the majority was doing it, banning it solves nothing. It only serves as a gateway. Specifically about acid, I needed it to clean my toilet so went around asking; I was escorted to a black-market shop in Noida which served other illegal things alongside like gas cylinders and hand-made guns.

Justice is the solution. Punish the criminals and people will stop doing it.

[spatulan]

Ever notice that some of the nations with the longest prison sentences, also have high crime rates and reoffending rates?

Or the many examples of crime increasing as sentence length increases?

Or the studies that have shown people sent to prison for a crime have higher reoffending rates than people given community sentences?

Study after study, and real life example after example shows that punishment is a very ineffective way of changing behaviour.

[justincormack]

Complete impunity also does not change behaviour, we are talking where people can commit crimes and there is no punishment or even approval.

[prateek_mir]

It's not a 'ban' on acid sale, its a ban on 'across-the-counter' sale of acid, which means that you need to produce an identification to purchase it.

[myth_buster]

This is freedom of speech issue. Imagine if the Egyptian government takes down fb stating similar concerns during protests, would you still defend it?

Additionally, government should not be in the business of controlling and determining the veracity of the messages people are sending among themselves.

[duaneb]

The government is certainly not the way to address this issue. Hell, it could have just as easily backfired.