Author: Naman Keswani
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology recently notified the establishment of a Fact Check Unit under the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, to deal with issues regarding spreading of misinformation or misleading information regarding government business either suo motu or through a complaint. Social media intermediaries would now be required to take down information flagged as false or misleading by the Fact Check Unit, failing which the effect of the safe harbor provisions could be taken away. The author believes that such unbridled powers could be detrimental to the fundamental right of freedom to speech and expression of social media intermediaries.
Social media has become a tool for spreading misinformation. The objective of establishing a Fact Check Unit is to stifle misinformation and misleading information which could affect the public interest at large. A query can be submitted to the unit regarding any misinformation or misleading information circulated on social media. Additionally, the Fact Check Unit could take suo motu actions to avoid cases wherein no complaints are raised by the public.
It is necessary that such fact checks must be conducted by an unbiased regulator to ensure that no filters are applied to crucial information. If the Fact Check Unit is established by the Government without any supervisory authority, it could lead to a situation where any information detrimental to the government’s interest, such as criticism of government policy, may be flagged as wrong or misleading information.
The powers of the Fact Check Unit have not been defined. This increases the scope of misuse of such powers, which would hamper the interests of social media intermediaries. In such cases, the social media intermediary could also face unnecessary prosecutions. Any recourse regarding misleading or misinformation or misleading information must be within the scope of reasonable restrictions enshrined under Article 19(2) of the Constitution, which is not the case in the present scenario.
Any statutory authority must have a defined scope of work. The Fact Check Unit established by the Government relates to the “government business”. Such government business is to be decided by the Unit itself, which makes its functioning arbitrary in nature.
While the objective to establish the Fact Check Unit is desirable, the Government has not clarified the scope of its functions and powers. Thus, a Fact Check Unit functioning under the government to check information regarding the government business could have an adverse impact on the public interest at large.
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