Bombay HC to deliver verdict on govt's fact checking rules on Dec 1

The Union government on Friday said it would not notify the fact checking unit (FCU) contemplated under the amended information technology (IT) rules against fake news till the Bombay high court delivers its judgment on the petitions challenging the amendments.

A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale closed the arguments on the petitions and said it would try to deliver the verdict on December 1.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that until the judgment was delivered, the Union government would not notify the  FCU which would be identifying "fake, false and misleading facts" pertaining to the "business of the government" on social media.

Under the amended rules, if the FCU comes across a fake post, it would inform the social media intermediary (where it has been posted/uploaded).

Once a post is flagged, the intermediary has the option of either taking it down, or putting a disclaimer on the same. If it opts for the latter option, the intermediary loses its `safe harbour/ immunity' and stands liable for legal action over the post.

Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, the Editors Guild of India and Association of Indian Magazines filed petitions in the HC against the amended rules, terming them arbitrary and unconstitutional, and claiming they would have a chilling effect on the fundamental rights of citizens.

The pleas said the government was trying to be the sole arbiter, and would try to curtail citizens' freedom of speech and the right to expression.

The court should declare the amended rules unconstitutional and direct the government to restrain from acting against any individual under them, they demanded.

The Union government contended during the hearing that it was not against opinions, criticism, satire or humour targeting the government or its functionaries, and the rules were meant to only prohibit the peddling of fake, false and misleading facts.

The judges, during the hearing, remarked that the rules "without guidelines and guardrails" give unfettered power to a government authority, and asked how can the government's truth be the final truth.

The court had also noted that the rules do not provide any legal recourse to a person whose post has been taken down, and asked what necessitated the amendment when the government already has the Press Information Bureau (PIB) which fact-checks news and other content on social media.

On April 6 this year, the Union government promulgated certain amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which included a provision for a fact-checking unit.