Government's decision to identify a 'fact checking unit' to flag fake news receives massive criticism

The government's decision to identify a 'fact checking unit' to flag fake news on union government to websites, intermediaries and social media on Friday attracted severe criticism describing it as "anti-democratic" and "draconian" even as Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar countered it as "deliberate misinformation".

CPI(M) and Editors Guild of India demanded immediate withdrawal of the changes in the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, which was notified on Thursday, amid fears that it would amount to censorship.

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In a statement, CPI(M) "strongly disapproved" of the amendments giving powers to the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to fact check any “fake, or false, or misleading” information about the union government and ask the social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google to take them down.

"If these companies refuse, then they will lose their 'safe harbour immunity' that guarantees them protection against any illegal or false content posted by users of these platforms. Such sweeping powers to the PIB are tantamount to outright censorship affecting all users of these platforms. This is totally anti-democratic and unacceptable," it said.

CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said the move was "draconian, anti-democratic and unacceptable", as censorship and democracy cannot coexist".

In its statement, the Editors Guild of India said it was deeply disturbed by the notification as it would have "deeply adverse implications" for press freedom in the country

"In effect, the government has given itself absolute power to determine what is fake or not, in respect of its own work, and order take down. The so-called ‘fact checking unit’ can be constituted by the Ministry, by a simple 'notification published in the Official Gazette'," it said adding there was no mention of the governing mechanism of such a fact checking unit, judicial oversight, the right to appeal and other guidelines.

"All this is against principles of natural justice, and akin to censorship," it said. It said there was no meaningful consultation after the government withdrew the earlier draft amendments it had put out in January 2023, which had given sweeping powers to the PIB.

"The Ministry’s notification of such draconian rules is therefore regrettable. The Guild again urges the Ministry to withdraw this notification and conduct consultations with media organisations and press bodies," it said.

Tagging Yechury's tweet, Chandrasekhar said the remarks were "either deliberate misinformation or ignorance masquerading as a tweet" and that the new guidelines do not provide for any sweeping powers to the government to call it draconian.

He said the IT rules already had provisions that mandated social media intermediaries to not carry certain types of content if they were to have legal immunity. He said the social media intermediaries have the option to follow or disregard the fact checking finding and the only consequence is that the social media intermediary may end up facing a legal case.