Netizen
Topic: Political Theory: Freedom and Rights · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 1 "Political Theory: An Introduction"
Meaning
A netizen is a "citizen of the internet", meaning a person who lives part of their public life online. NCERT uses the idea to show that old questions of political theory come back in new places. How much freedom should people have on the net? Who may control it? Can the government read private e-mails, and should spam be stopped? Netizens dislike government control, but many accept some rules to keep the internet private and safe.
Example
NCERT asks whether a government may read e-mails to track terrorists. In India this is now partly answered by law. Puttaswamy (2017) made privacy a fundamental right. Section 69 of the IT Act 2000 allows lawful interception, meaning the government may watch messages with legal permission. The DPDP Act 2023 protects personal data, and the Telecommunications Act 2023 also applies.
Don't confuse with
- Citizen: a citizen is a legal member of a state, with rights given by its Constitution. "Netizen" is a description, not a legal status, and it gives no rights of its own.