PIB-flagged ‘fake news’ have to be taken down by online platforms

The Information Technology Ministry on Thursday notified a new rule which will give powers to the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to fact-check any 'fake, or false or misleading' information about the central government and ask social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or Google to take it down.

If the companies refuse to abide by the order of the PIB fact-check, they will lose their safe harbour immunity which guarantees them from protection against any illegal or false content posted by the users on their platforms.

The changes which were proposed as part of the amendments to the IT Rules 2021 had generated a controversy. The new rule will allow the fact-check unit within the PIB to keep tabs on any 'misleading content or fake information' related to the working of the Union Government.

The fact check unit will reach out to the relevant government departments to get their view on whether a piece of news is fake or not. A call would be taken accordingly.

This move had been criticised by the Editors Guild of India and The News Broadcasters and Digital Association. The two bodies had said that this would give the PIB sweeping powers and would result in censorship of the press.

Minister of State for Information and Technology and Electronics, Rajeev Chandrasekar had said that the idea is not to censor the media.

"Let me also add that there is no obligation on the intermediaries to take down the content flagged by PIB if they conclude that the fact-check report is erroneous. In this case, they will lose their safe harbour, and the matter will be taken to a court of law," the minister had said.

"There is already an obligation under Section 3(1)(b)(v) [of the IT Rules] that you cannot have misinformation. Nobody said anything in October when the Rules were notified," Chandrasekar said.

He also dismissed concerns that this amendment would lead to censorship of posts on the social media platforms which are critical of the government.