A pushback against online abuse

In Kerala, trolls and abusers may fall silent, at least for the time being, thanks to a recent incident involving a courageous actor in the Malayalam film industry.

On January 6, the actor lodged a police complaint against 30 people for allegedly posting derogatory remarks beneath one of her posts on social media. The next day, she filed a complaint against businessman Boby Chemmanur, calling him the “leader” of “social media hooligans”. The actor alleged that he had harassed her with sexual remarks on social media but also off it, during the inaugural function of one of his jewellery stores. After she objected to the remarks and refused to attend the inauguration of other outlets of the Chemmanur Group, she received obscene comments from several accounts. It seemed to her like a targeted attack.

The police pressed non-bailable charges against Mr. Chemmanur and arrested him from his tea estate in Wayanad within two days of the actor filing the complaint. The arrest was dramatic. A group of young men claiming to be Mr. Chemmanur’s fans attempted to stop the police vehicle, alleging that the businessman was being unfairly targeted, after a local court denied his bail application and sent him to judicial custody for 14 days. The police also arrested a 60-year-old man, who was one of the 30 people who allegedly abused the actor online.

As the probe gathered pace, many of the offensive comments under the complainant’s older posts, and in some cases the profiles used to post such comments on her profile, began to disappear.

While the Kerala High Court granted bail to Mr. Chemmanur, it made him apologise for his theatrics which involved a reported refusal to sign the bail bond.

The actor’s decision to legally take on harassers on social media is laudable. Over the last few years, there has been a growing number of instances of targeted online harassment against women in various fields, especially politicians, journalists, and celebrities. While the worst attacks are invariably launched against opinionated women, sometimes all it takes is the posting of a photograph to attract abuse.

The complainant wrote that cruel comments, sexual innuendos, and a planned campaign by certain social media profiles are enough to take lives these days. Many people, including celebrities facing serious allegations, religious and business groups, and political parties seeking to silence those raising uncomfortable questions, have weaponised online armies to push their detractors into submission. They are known to deploy hundreds and thousands of fake accounts to intimidate their targets and even drive them off social media.

Activist Rahul Easwar, who habitually defends on news channels men facing serious allegations of sexual harassment and assault, waded into the issue by questioning the actor’s sartorial choices. Accusing him of orchestrating a cybercrime against her to manipulate public opinion and trivialise her complaint, the Malayalam actor then filed a complaint against Mr. Easwar. She argued that his comments would prevent more women in similar situations from lodging complaints.

The high-profile arrest sent out the important message that online bullying will not be tolerated. The swift action taken by the police and the fear that it has possibly created could act as a strong deterrent against online harassment in the future. Women face a particularly violent and sexualised form of abuse online, sometimes even in the form of rape and death threats, which is why the actor’s firm stand has been lauded widely.

However, some people argue that the arrest of the businessman was an attack on the freedom of expression. This is a wilful and wrongful conflation. The freedom of speech does not translate into a freedom from the consequences of such speech. Freedoms come with reasonable restrictions. It is possible to cause great harm to people without being anywhere close to them physically, and therefore, freedom of speech comes with great responsibility. Only stringent and sustained action against both well-known and faceless online harassers can ensure that the social media sphere is reclaimed as a space for creativity, respectful engagement, and sane debates and reasoning, as it used to be, rather than as one where vituperative modes of interaction hold sway, which is unfortunately the case now.

praveen.sr@thehindu.co.in