Govt’s fact-check unit is not for censoring journalism: IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar

‘Fact-Checking’ amended IT Rules:
Join this Space with IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar @Rajeev_GoI at 7:00 pm IST on 14 April.
Minister will:
Explain Amendments on Fact-Checking;
Take Questions on all Amendments.
Join this Townhall; set a reminder.https://t.co/whfehbQtfI

— Kanchan Gupta 🇮🇳 (@KanchanGupta) April 13, 2023

The Indian Express had earlier reported that the fact check unit, as proposed in the Information Technology Rules, 2021, is likely to have four members — a representative from the IT Ministry and one from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, a “media expert” and a “legal expert”.

The unit will also be supported by designated nodal officers from other ministries, an official had earlier told this paper.

Last week, the IT Ministry notified amendments to the Information Technology Rules, 2021, creating a regulatory regime for the fact check body, allowing it to label content related to the government on online platforms as “fake” or “misleading”. Content marked as such by the body will have to be taken down by online intermediaries if they wish to retain their ‘safe harbour’, which is the legal immunity they enjoy against third-party content.

The rules have attracted criticism from a range of stakeholders — the Congress and several other Opposition parties, including the TMC, RJD and CPI(M), have come down heavily on the government over its decision. So have digital rights activists and press associations like the Editors Guild of India — the latter described the rules as draconian; and have called for the rules to be withdrawn.

During Friday’s discussion, responding to a question on the unit’s independence, Chandrasekhar said that it was in the fact-check unit’s “best interests” to gain credibility with social media platforms.