On April 06, the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (Meity) issued the Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Amendment Rules, 2023, thereby amending Rule 3(1)(b)(v) to state “or, in respect of any business of the Central Government, is identified as fake or false or misleading by such fact check unit of the Central Government as the Ministry may, by notification published in the Official Gazette, specify”.

The News Broadcasters and Digital Association (NBDA) expressed great concern over the change, claiming that it will result in the censorship of any reasonable criticism or analysis of the government, its policies, and actions. This will have a “chilling effect” on the media’s freedom of speech and expression, as guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

It is deeply concerning that, as a result of the aforementioned Amendment, the Ministry has granted itself the authority to establish a fact-checking unit that will operate as an “adjudicator of truth” and will have unrestricted and unfettered authority to assess what is “fake,” “false,” or “misleading.”

The aforementioned Amendment also has a direct impact on the news media, as the ‘intermediaries’ may be pressured by the Ministry’s ‘fact check unit’ to remove claimed ‘fake,’ ‘false,’ or misleading news information without following natural justice principles, UNI reported from New Delhi.

This would also preclude any comment or criticism of the government. Such sweeping powers to restrict information will be granted to the Ministry’s fact-checking unit without any checks and balances, ensuring that its conclusions are neither objective nor independent.

The aforementioned Amendment looks to be a deliberate attempt by the government to control free expression. It will result in intermediaries, including a social media intermediary and a significant social media intermediary, censoring content/information at the Government’s request on vague and ambiguous grounds that are not contemplated by the reasonable restrictions enumerated in Article 19(2) of the Constitution.

It is also worth noting that, notwithstanding the concerns expressed by several media groups, including the NBDA, the Ministry issued the aforementioned Amendment without sufficient consultation.

In light of the concerns highlighted above, the NBDA requests that the aforementioned change be withdrawn by the Ministry.