Govt Ready To Make IT Rules Phrasing Media Supportive: MoS IT

The government is open to phrase the proposed removal of ‘fake’ of ‘false’ content, in an alternate language.

Identifying misinformation online was the core motive behind proposing a fact check mechanism through the Press Information Bureau (PIB), Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and IT said, ET reported.

“The intention was to crackdown on enemies of India, state actors, those with vested interests, child sexual abuse, and religious incitement, and not on the media. If media houses justify that the proposed amendments come in the way of their work, the Government is willing to phrase the amendment in an alternate language,” Chandrasekhar said as quoted in the report.

He also noted that the amendment is only a proposal open for consultation currently.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) proposed new amendments to the IT Rules, 2021, which will require social media intermediaries to remove content flagged as fake or false by the central government’s fact-checking mechanisms.

MeitY published the draft amendments on Tuesday (January 18) and invited feedback on it by January 25, 2023.

As per the draft amendments, intermediaries will have to make reasonable efforts to cause the user not to host, display, upload, modify, transit, or publish any message that has been “identified as fake or false by the fact check unit at the Press Information Bureau of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting or other agency authorised by the Central government”.

The Editors Guild of India expressed concern over the proposed amendment saying determination of fake news cannot be in the sole hands of the government and will result in censorship of the press.

“EGI is deeply concerned by an amendment to IT Rules 2021 made by MEITY, giving authority to PIB to determine veracity of news reports, and directing online intermediaries and social media platforms to take down content deemed as ‘fake’. Guild feels this is akin to censorship,” the media association said.

The IT Rules, 2021 prescribe a framework for content regulation by online publishers of news, curated audio-visual content, social media intermediaries, among others. Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as other online platforms, where users have a big role to play but do not have robust redressal mechanisms, also fall under the ambit of the rules.

The Indian government has been vocal about making ‘the internet open, safe, and trusted’ and has released multiple amendments to IT Rules from time-to-time to better regulate the platforms.

“Our mission is to make the internet open, safe and trusted…Internet can’t be party to deliberate misinformation,” Chandrasekhar said earlier.

The government is also cracking down on YouTube channels and social media pages to curb fake news. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB’s) fact check unit Press Information Bureau (PIB) flagged six YouTube channels for working concertedly and spreading false information in India.