The Government of India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has announced the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023, effective from April 6th. The new rules empower MeitY to establish a fact-checking unit responsible for identifying false, misleading or fake information regarding any Central Government business. Additionally, social media intermediaries and telecom service providers are now required to warn users not to share any such information identified by the fact-checking unit. The move aims to curb the spread of false information and maintain the ethics code of digital media.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has introduced a significant amendment to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2023, allowing the ministry to create a fact-checking unit that will be responsible for identifying fake, misleading, or false content related to any Central Government business [Rule 3(1)(b)(v)]. The amendment also requires social media intermediaries and telecom service providers to notify users that they should not host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share any information flagged as fake, misleading, or false by the fact-checking unit under Section 3. The primary aim of the new guidelines is to regulate digital media ethics and prevent the dissemination of inaccurate information concerning the Central Government's operations.
The 2023 amendment to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules has introduced a significant provision that social media intermediaries must comply with or risk losing their 'safe harbour' immunity. Violations of this rule can have severe consequences for intermediaries, including facing legal action. However, the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), an Indian digital liberties organisation, has expressed concerns about the amendment's impact on freedom of speech and expression. IFF's statement highlights the potential chilling effect of giving unguided power to the Government's fact-checking unit to identify fake online content.
The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), an Indian digital liberties organisation, has issued a statement expressing concerns about the recent amendment to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules. According to IFF, assigning arbitrary and overbroad powers to any unit of the government to determine the authenticity of online content bypasses the principles of natural justice and makes the exercise unconstitutional. The notification of these amended rules, therefore, risks chilling the fundamental right to speech and expression, particularly for news publishers, journalists, and other individuals.
IFF argues that the fact-checking unit's power would essentially allow it to bypass the statutory prescription of Section 69A of the IT Act, which enables the Central Government or its authorised officers to issue directions for blocking public access to any information through any computer resource. Under Section 69A, the Government or the concerned officer is required to follow specific processes and safeguards in blocking public access. According to IFF's statement, the notification also goes against the Supreme Court's judgment in the case of Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, which laid down procedures for blocking content.
The recent amendment to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2023 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, has raised concerns among various organisations, including the Editors Guild of India (EGI). EGI tweeted that it is disturbed by the amendment, which grants sweeping powers to a "fact-checking unit" established by the government to identify false or fake content related to Central Government business and order takedown to intermediaries. EGI has expressed concerns about the potential chilling effect on the freedom of speech and expression.
In addition to this, the notification also seeks to regulate online gaming.
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TAGS: IT Rules 2023 MeitY fact-checking unit social media online content false information violation freedom of speech and expression Internet Freedom Foundation Section 69A Supreme Court Editors Guild of India online gaming.
