The Editors Guild of India on Wednesday said that it is "deeply concerned" by the draft amendment made to the Information Technology Rules, 2021, by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MEITY). It said the amendment puts the determination of fake news in the sole hands of the government and will result in censorship and easier muzzling of the press. It urged the ministry to take back the amendment.
The MEITY uploaded the amendment on its website on Tuesday, which provides for authorising the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to determine the veracity of news reports. Anything the PIB terms 'fake' will have to be taken down by online intermediaries, including social media platforms.
The Editors Guild, founded in 1978 with the objectives of protecting press freedom and raising the standards of editorial leadership of newspapers and magazines, said that multiple laws exist to deal with content found to be factually incorrect. "This new procedure basically serves to make it easier to muzzle the free press, and will give sweeping powers to the PIB, or any "other agency authorised by the Central Government for fact-checking", to force online intermediaries to take down content that the government may find problematic."
Further, the words "in respect of any business of the Central Government" in the amendment seem to give the government "carte blanche to determine what is fake or not with respect to its own work," the Guild said. "This will stifle legitimate criticism of the government and will have an adverse impact on the ability of the press to hold governments to account, which is a vital role it plays in a democracy," it said.
The Guild had earlier raised its concerns with the IT Rules when first introduced in March 2021, stating that they empower the Union government to block, delete, or modify published news anywhere in the country without any judicial oversight. "Various provisions in these rules have the potential to place unreasonable restrictions on digital news media, and consequently media at large," it said.
The Guild urged the ministry to expunge the new amendment and initiate meaningful consultations with press bodies, media organisations, and other stakeholders on the regulatory framework for digital media so as not to undermine press freedom.