OPINION: Facebook is now Bookface

Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow Harvard University students in 2004. Facebook has been ranked as the most used social networking service by the worldwide monthly active users.  Facebook allow any users who declare themselves to be at least 13 year old to become registered users of the site.

Facebook is a social networking service launched in February 2004 and it has over one billion active users and more than half of them using Facebook on a mobile device.  Users have to register before using the site and may join common-interest user groups, organized by workplace, school or college or other characteristics and categorize their friends into list such People from Work or Close Friends.

But recently the high-handedness shown by the Maharashtra Police in arresting two girls in Mumbai for posting comments on Facebook questioning the shutdown in the city on account of Shiv Sena Bal Tahckerya’s funeral needs to be condemned in strongest possible manner by all those who believe in the freedom of expression. 

 Shaheed Dhada and Renu Shrinivasan were arrested under section 505(2) the police clearly misused its authority as by posting the comments and liking by other, there would have been no enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes.  However, both the girls later on apologized for their posts but the issue was not considered as closed as it violated the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution of the country. 

Expressing views on any incident is not a crime and the action on the part of the police is shocking and Press Council of India, chief Markandey Katju under  sections 341 and 342, it is a crime to wrongfully arrest or wrongfully confine someone who has committed no crime.  The biggest democracy in the world must set an example for others to follow by taking  against the guilty cops otherwise it is going to be a bad precedent and Facebook will be known as Bookface.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author in this article are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of City Air News.)