The Editors Guild of India said it is deeply troubled by the government’s move to impose laws on social media through a self-appointed fact-checking unit.
Guild described the new rules as harsh and akin to censorship. Restrictions have been imposed on media platforms by amendment in IT rules. The rules require that they “not publish or share, or host, fake, false or misleading information about the government.”
News agency Reuters has said this in a report.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been repeatedly at loggerheads with various social media platforms.
This happened when Social Media platforms failed to heed requests to remove certain content or accounts that allegedly spread misinformation
The government announced on Thursday that it would set up a fact-checking unit to identify fake, false or misleading information.
But the Editors Guild of India has questioned the functioning of this body, its wide powers in determining fake news and the right of appeal in such cases.
“All this is against the principles of natural justice and amounts to censorship,” the Editors Guild said in a statement.
The organization has said that, “The Ministry’s notification containing such strict rules is regrettable. The Guild again urges the Ministry to withdraw this notification and hold consultations with media organizations and press bodies.”
Speaking to the reporters on Thursday, Minister of State for IT Rajib Chandrasekhar dismissed concerns that the amendment would lead to censorship. He assured that the facts will be investigated in a credible manner.
Digital rights organization Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) said that undefined words such as “fake”, “false” and “misleading” in the amendment make them susceptible to misuse by authorities.
