‘Specify Scope of Power for Proposed Fact-Checking Unit’: Editors Guild to Karnataka Government

The Guild said that efforts to keep fake news in check have to be made by independent bodies, not the government, lest they become tools to clamp down on voices of dissent.

The Wire Staff

The Guild said that efforts to keep fake news in check have to be made by independent bodies, not the government, lest they become tools to clamp down on voices of dissent.

‘specify scope of power for proposed fact checking unit’ editors guild to karnataka government

Illustration: The Wire, with Canva

New Delhi: The Editors Guild India on Sunday (August 6) expressed concerns over Karnataka government’s decision to set up a ‘fact-checking unit’ to monitor ‘fake news’ on social media platforms.

As per Karnataka's IT & BT Minister, Priyank Kharge, “posts and reports that are tagged as fake by the fact checking unit will be taken down,” and “if required, the government can also take penal measures under relevant provisions of the IPC.”

The Guild has already filed a petition in the Bombay high court challenging the amendments to the IT Rules 2023 that allow the Union government to set up a ‘fact checking unit’, have the sole authority on deciding if a post is fake or not and order it to be taken down.

The Bombay high court had extended the stay on the IT Rules in June after two new petitions were filed by the Editors Guild of India and the Association of Indian Magazines, challenging the constitutional validity of the provisions.

During the hearings in July, the court had remarked that one cannot “bring a hammer to kill an ant” while calling the IT Rules excessive.

Also read: ‘Can’t Bring Hammer To Kill Ant’: Bombay HC Says IT Rules on 'Fake' News May Be Excessive

“While admittedly there is a problem of misinformation and fake news, especially in the online space, efforts to check such content have to be by independent bodies that are not under the sole purview of the government, lest they become tools to clamp down on voices of dissent,” the Guild said in its latest statement.

The journalists’ body pointed out that any such monitoring framework should follow principles of natural justice, including giving prior notice, right to appeal, and judicial oversight. “Such units should be set up with due consultation and involvement of all stakeholders, including journalists and media bodies, so that press freedom is not tampered with,” the statement read.

The Guild urged the Karnataka government to “clearly specify the scope of and powers of the proposed fact-checking unit, as well as the governing mechanism under which it will operate.”

It also asked the state government to undertake a ‘consultation exercise with press organisations’ for developing this framework.

This article went live on August twenty-eighth, two thousand twenty three, at zero minutes past two in the afternoon.

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