Independent MP Kapil Sibal has raised questions on the IT ministry's move to set up a fact-checking unit and filter information based on its evaluation.
Sibal had tweeted: "Now PIB will decide what is fake and what is not and notify it. If online platforms choose to ignore, they will lose their immunity from prosecution. Now the government to decide what is fake and what is not!"
After the final amendments to the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021 were notified, the IT Ministry will form a "fact checking unit" to stop the flow of misinformation about the government.
Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, on Saturday defended new IT rules saying they "already provide for social media platforms to ensure nine types of content to be avoided on their platforms, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and misinformation, etc to qualify for legal immunity under the Section 79 of the IT Act".
The government will not ask intermediaries to remove content, but only label it as fake, patently false or misleading, explained the minister.
"Our goal is to ensure that the Internet is safe and trusted for all our digital nagriks," he stressed, saying that no social media platform can "ever violate the fundamental rights of the citizens of India".
"The fact-checking unit will flag misinformation and patently false information pertaining to the government," the Minister posted in a tweet." However, then "the aggrieved department will have the right to pursue its case in a court of law under relevant sections of the law," said Chandrasekhar.
According to Chandrasekhar, it will be discussed if the new fact-checking unit will be under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) or will be an entirely new unit.
(With inputs from IANS)
