'This will harm press freedom': Editors Guild of India on new IT amendment rules

The Editors Guild of India has expressed its deep concerns over the new Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023. In a notice issued on Friday, the guild stated that the amendments granted the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) the power to establish a "fact checking unit" with sweeping powers to determine what is false or misleading concerning any Central Government business.

No governing mechanism for fact checking unit

According to the Editors Guild, the new rules failed to mention the governing mechanism for such a fact-checking unit. The amendments have serious implications for press freedom in India, the guild said. The notice went on to state that any news that has been deemed fake by the Press Information Bureau’s fact-checking unit would have to be removed by all platforms, including social media platforms.

Absolute power to determine what is fake or not: Govt

The notice stated that the Indian government has given itself absolute power to determine what is fake or not with respect to its own work and order take down. There is no mention of the governing mechanism for such a fact checking unit, the judicial oversight, the right to appeal, or adherence to the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court of India in Shreya Singhal v Union of India case, with respect to take down of content or blocking of social media handles. This move is against principles of natural justice and akin to censorship, the guild said.

Concerns raised about fact checking unit

The guild has previously raised concerns about the fact checking unit, stating that the determination of fake news cannot be solely in the hands of the government. In January 2023, the guild released a statement expressing its concern over the draft amendment to the Information Technology Rules, 2021, which grants authority to the Press Information Bureau to determine the veracity of news reports. The statement said that anything deemed fake would have to be removed by online intermediaries, including social media platforms. The guild said that such a move would result in the censorship of the press.

Published on: Friday, April 07, 2023, 03:01 PM IST