There is reason for the faculty at Delhi University to feel that their freedom of using social media is being curbed. The University has formed a committee to come up with a policy on social-media usage.
According to the public relations department, the six-member panel was primarily constituted to check the innumerable Twitter and Instagram pages / accounts that mention ‘Delhi University’ in their names.
Anoop Lather, public relations officer, Delhi University, has assured the employees and teachers that the social-media policy will not violate the privacy of the teachers or employees in any way; and that it was only meant to resolve the confusion that tends to arise due to the existence of so many handles and accounts with the DU tag or label.
Lather himself is a member of this social-media committee formed for the purpose. The meetings of the committee will be chaired by Sanjeev Singh, professor and director, Delhi University Computer Centre.
It is not surprising, however, that members of the academic council suspect the policy will stifle their freedom of expression and would end up violating their democratic rights. Some of them see no need for such a policy at all in a publicly-funded institution, where they feel students and teachers should have the right to upload their thoughts, opinions and related images on social media. They worry that the policy may take away their freedom to speak up.
