Can Retweeting, Sharing Or Forwarding Offensive Posts Attract Criminal Liability? Explainer

Retweets are not endorsements, as many Twitter users frequently state in their bios. Can one be protected from criminal culpability by this disclaimer? Can retweeting, sharing or forwarding offensive posts attract criminal liability?

KPS Malhotra, the deputy commissioner of the Delhi Police, has stated that one must take personal responsibility for retweets and that even endorsing a viewpoint on social media becomes the viewpoint of the individual sharing or retweeting it.

"If you endorse a view on social media, it becomes your view. Retweeting and saying I don't know, doesn't stand here. Responsibility is yours. Time does not matter, you only have to retweet and it becomes new. Police action was on the basis of when matter came to our cognisance," the DCP remarked.

In this explanatory article, we explore law requirements and significant court rulings on the issue of whethe...

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