CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ONLINE GOVERNANCE
AUTHOR – MEGHA, LLM (IP) STUDENT AT AMITY UNIVERSITY
BEST CITATION – MEGHA, CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ONLINE GOVERNANCE, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (14) OF 2025, PG. 202-213, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344
Abstract
The state governance through the digital turn, has presented some intricate constitutional problems in India that have challenged the breathing of the fundamental rights and the breathing of the state. This article demonstrates the conundra in the constitutional order of India in dealing with the issue of control of the internet in terms of free speech and privacy and due process over the internet. Indian digital governance history and legal history We give a cursory overview of the history of Indian digital governance (i.e. IT Act 2000) and then discuss constitutional values as they are challenged. We examine applicable statutes and policies (IT Act, the intermediary rules previously, DPDPA 2023 13[14]) and significant Supreme Court jurisprudence (eg Shreya Singhal v.). UOI (2015), Puttaswamy v. UOI (2017), Anuradha Bhasin v. UO10I (2010) ([11]) in an attempt to figure out how courts strike a balance between rights and regulation. We cross-border leverage theory and cross-border education as well, like Lessig’s codelaw (code is law), we have the architecture of the network governs behavior ([2]) or Balkin’s idea of information fiduciaries of social media sites having a duty to safeguard user data ([3]). A reflection on the history of the digital sphere of India is also presented, albeit empirically based (e.g., rise in the number of internet jection4 and the largest number of State-imposed Internet shutdowns7). These comparisons may even in the short-term take the shape: approach in India verses US /EU (e.g. GDPR verses new law on India data 16, Sec 230 verses intermediary rules 17). It has been analyzed that even the Constitution of India, which had been written earlier when digital rights had no context whatsoever has actually been used as a reference to protect the digital rights in fact, but there are perhaps some gaps. The Article predicts that digital governance is an era of internet constitutionalism an implementation of normative principles that offers a check on executive authority in the digital space, but interpreting and filling internet constitutionalism is a continuing project of the Indian legal order.
Keywords– Digital constitutionalism; free speech; privacy; Indian Constitution; online governance; IT Act; data protection.