New Delhi, Dec 12: The Government of India on Friday reiterated that while free speech is guaranteed under Article 19(1) of the Constitution, strong regulatory mechanisms are in place to address the growing spread of fake, false and misleading information on digital platforms. The clarification came in a written reply by Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Dr. L. Murugan in the Rajya Sabha.
According to the government, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021—framed under the IT Act, 2000—lay out detailed obligations for intermediaries and digital publishers. Part III of the Rules mandates publishers of news and current affairs to follow a prescribed Code of Ethics, which mirrors the Programme Code under the Cable Television Networks Act, 1995, and the Norms of Journalistic Conduct outlined in the Press Council Act, 1978. A three-tier grievance redressal mechanism is built into the framework to ensure compliance.
Part II of the IT Rules also places responsibility on social media intermediaries such as YouTube and Facebook to curb the circulation of patently false or misleading content.
The Ministry stated that a dedicated Fact Check Unit (FCU) was created under the Press Information Bureau in November 2019 to verify news related to the central government. After confirming information with authorised officials across ministries, the FCU publishes corrected or clarified content on its official social media channels.
In addition, the government continues to exercise its powers under Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000, to block websites, social media accounts and online content that threaten India’s sovereignty, security, defence or public order.
Dr. Murugan provided these details in response to a question raised by MP Dr. Laxmikant Bajpayee.
Comments are closed.