Centre defends fact-check unit, says right to correct information importan
- Defending the formation of a fact-checking unit (FCU), the Union government said in the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that the right to know factually correct information and the right to not be misled were equally important as the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a).
Highlights:
- Stand-up artist, the Editors Guild of India, and the Association of Indian Magazines have challenged the constitutionality of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023
- that permit an FCU of the Union government to identify “fake or false or misleading” online content “related to the business of the Central Government” and demand its removal.
- Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, for the Union government, said the FCU would prevent people from false information.
- “This approach represents the least restrictive method to counteract fake, false, and misleading information.
- Private companies and individuals also maintain fact-checking units and the government is similarly justified in providing accurate information to the public.
- In many instances, the government acts as the adjudicator and beneficiary. However, in this context, the government's role is simply to identify and highlight instances of falsehood or misinformation,”.
- The petitioners completed their argument in April, contending that the amendment enables the government to be the “prosecutor, the judge, and in that loose sense, the executioner” of what constitutes the ‘truth’ online, thereby violating the cardinal principles of natural justice. They also pointed out that the “over-broad and vague” nature of the rules created a “chilling effect” on the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
- The FCU is a methodical way of doing that. And being a statutory regime, it has consequences. The first arbiter is the intermediary, the final arbiter is a court of competent jurisdiction.
- The right to be informed correctly is necessarily inherent in my right under Article 21.
- Because, if somebody’s freedom of speech incites violence or threatens public order, it directly infringes rights under Article 21,”.
Prelims Takeaway:
- Art 21
- Freedom of Speech