Karnataka govt tables bill empowering officials to order takedown of online hate crime content

The state government on Wednesday tabled a bill in the legislative assembly, which, if it becomes law, will empower officials to order online platforms and websites to take down the content they consider could trigger a “hate crime.”

The Congress regime, despite stiff resistance from the Opposition BJP, has gone ahead with the bill. “The designated officer, as notified by the state government, shall have the power to direct any service provider, intermediaries, person or entity to block or remove the hate crime materials from its domain, including electronic media,” says the Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2025, tabled by home minister G Parameshwara in the ongoing session at Belagavi.

The bill has invoked provisions from the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Information Technology Act, 2000, to deal with such instances.


The government says it is proposing the law to curb and prevent the dissemination, publication, or promotion of hate speech and crimes, prescribe punishment for such crimes, and provide compensation to victims of such crimes.

The bill, when tabled, however, triggered stiff resistance from the BJP MLAs. Opposition leader R Ashoka said the party would register its protest when the house takes up the proposed legislation for discussion.

The government has proposed stringent punishment for people making hate speeches, considering it as an act of promoting enmity between communities or inciting violence on the grounds of religion, caste, language, gender, or region. It has also sought to make such offences non-bailable.

Those accused of hate speech, if convicted, could invite a prison term of between one and seven years with a fine of up to Rs 50,000. Conviction for a second time for a similar offence could invite a jail term of two to 10 years with a fine of Rs 1 lakh. It has also proposed compensation to victims of hate speech.