The Centre told the Bombay High Court on Thursday, 27 April, that it will not notify till 5 July the formation of the government-notified 'fact-check unit' under the new Information Technology Rules.
This fact-checking unit, once constituted, will have the power to flag any content about any government business as 'fake', 'false' or 'misleading' and let intermediaries take action against it.
The government made the statement about not notifying it till 5 July in response to a plea by stand up comic Kunal Kamra who recently filed a petition challenging the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023 that were notified by the government earlier this month.
Kamra's petition seeks a declaration from the High Court that these new rules (amending 3(i)(b)(v) of the IT Rules 2021) are unconstitutional as they are ultra vires.
The Editors Guild of India has said that said it is "deeply concerned" with the suggestions of the latest amendment to the IT Rules.
"At the outset, determination of fake news cannot be in the sole hands of the government and will result in the censorship of the press," it read.
The statement voiced its concern about the proposal making it "easier to muzzle the free press," saying that it would give PIB sweeping powers to "force online intermediaries" to remove content that the government "may find problematic."
Calling on the Ministry of Information and Electronics Technology to remove this amendment, it stated that the move would "stifle legitimate criticism of the government" and adversely impact the press which holds the government accountable.
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