News flagged as ‘fake’ by PIB not allowed on online platforms: MeitY

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Any piece of news that has been identified as “fake” by the fact-checking unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) – the Centre’s nodal agency to share news updates – will not be allowed on online intermediaries, including social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has said in a draft proposal.

As MeitY uploaded a new draft of amendments to the Information Technology Rules, 2021, on Tuesday to include regulations for online gaming platforms, it has significantly changed the proposal’s scope to include this new provision. The proposal has alarmed members of civil society, who fear that anything the government contradicts could potentially become a ground for content takedowns.

The latest proposal suggests that there is now potential for content takedowns because something has been flagged as fake news by the PIB. The purview of the proposal could go much further than that – it says that content that has been marked as misleading by “any other agency authorised by the government for fact-checking” or “in respect of any business of the Centre” will not be allowed on online intermediaries.

The requirement has been added under due diligence requirements that intermediaries need to follow to enjoy safe harbour, which is legal immunity from third-party content they host. Intermediaries essentially allow users to access services on the internet, and the proposed changes to the rules mean that not just social media platforms but internet service providers and web hosting providers – who are all classified as intermediaries currently – will have to follow the rules if notified with this provision.

This means that if a piece of news has been flagged as fake or false by either the PIB or any other fact-checking agency authorised by the government, internet service providers will also have to disable the link to that particular news piece. MeitY did not respond to an immediate request for…

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