The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: The ‘fact-checking unit’ tasked with the eponymous work of screening all online content under the Union government’s amended Information Technology Rules will have two government representatives and two government-appointed experts, an Indian Express report says.
The unit will comprise two representatives from the Union information technology ministry and statistics ministry, along with a media expert and a legal expert.
“The unit will be supported by designated nodal officers from other ministries,” an unnamed senior government official told the news outlet.
The government is likely to formally notify this fact-checking unit in 10 days.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s gazette notification modifying the Information Technology rules, 2021, was released last week.
Under it, is has become obligatory for “intermediaries” – including social media companies – to “not publish, share or host fake, false or misleading information in respect of any business of the Central government”.
The fact-checking unit of the government will now identify what is “fake, false or misleading information”.
The move has been widely criticised as a distinct overreach. “Assigning any unit of the government such arbitrary, overbroad powers to determine the authenticity of online content bypasses the principles of natural justice, thus making it an unconstitutional exercise. The notification of these amended rules cement the chilling effect on the fundamental right to speech and expression, particularly on news publishers, journalists, activists, etc.,” the Internet Freedom Foundation noted in response.
The Bombay high court, meanwhile, has directed the Union government to file a response within a week on why the new Rules should not be stayed and describe the factual background that necessitated the amendments in the first place.
The new Rules come as several media organisations, including The Wire, have challenged the constitutionality of the older iteration of the IT Rules of 2021. The Bombay high court has stayed the provision of those sections directly applicable to digital news sites.