IT Amendment 2023: Now government will fact-check citizens online
A stand-up comedian has challenged the new amendment, which directs social media intermediaries to essentially censor or otherwise modify their content at the direction of the government, before the Bombay High Court on the ground that it would defeat the purpose of political satire if it were to be scrutinised by the government and censored as fake, false or misleading.
Prameela K
13 April 2023
Kunal Kamra, a stand-up comedian, has challenged the new amendment, which directs social media intermediaries to essentially censor or otherwise modify their content at the direction of the government, before the Bombay High Court on the ground that the purpose of political satire would be defeated if it were to be scrutinised by the government and censored as fake, false or misleading.
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What are the new IT Amendment Rules?
ON April 6, the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023, pursuant to which the Union government will establish a fact-checking unit for identifying 'fake', 'false' or 'misleading' content with respect to 'any business' of the Union government.
The fact-checking unit is likely to have four members: a representative from the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, one from the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, a media expert and a legal expert.
According to Electronics and Information Technology Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the intermediaries may ignore the mandate of the fact-checking unit. If they decide to do so, a legal remedy can be pursued against them by the government.
“The Union government will establish a fact-checking unit for identifying 'fake', 'false' or 'misleading' content in respect of 'any business' of the government.