Meity notifies fact check unit under PIB as authorised unit for Centre

Petitioners had approached the Bombay High Court and expressed fear that exchange of information in the form of political discourses or comments, political satire, and so on may be targeted if such a fact checking unit is notified.

New Delhi: The fact check unit under the Press Information Bureau will be the fact check unit for the central government, according to an official notification issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Wednesday.

The fact check unit has been notified under I-T Rules of 2021. The move comes amid opposition from several quarters, including the Editors Guild of India.

Functioning under the aegis of the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the fact check unit will be used to flag fake, false or misleading online content related to the government under the new I-T Rules, MeitY said in its notification on Wednesday.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-clause (v) of clause (b) of sub-rule (1) of rule 3 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the Central Government hereby notifies the Fact Check Unit under the Press Information Bureau of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as the fact check unit of the Central Government for the purposes of the said sub-clause, in respect of any business of the Central Government," the notification said.

On March 11, the Bombay High Court refused to grant an interim stay on setting up a FCU under the recently amended I-T Rules to identify fake and false content on social media against the government. The High Court had said that no grave and irreparable loss would be caused.

The court had said the balance of convenience tilts in favour of the government, which made it clear that political opinions, satire and comedy are aspects not sought to be linked to the business of the union government.

The petitioners had expressed fear that exchange of information in the form of political discourses or comments, political satire, and so on may be targeted if such a fact checking unit is notified.

The petitioners have filed a plea in the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order and it is slated to be taken up on Thursday.