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ARTICLE · 03 MAY 2024

Supreme Court Stays Centre's Notification Of Fact Check Unit Under IT Rules

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The Hon'ble Supreme Court on March 21, 2024, stayed the operation of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 amended on April 06, 2023 ...

IndiaMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
Vikrant Rana
Vikrant Rana
Anuradha Gandhi
Anuradha Gandhi
Rachita Thakur
Rachita Thakur
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The Hon'ble Supreme Court on March 21, 2024, stayed the operation of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 amended on April 06, 2023 (hereinafter referred to as the "Amended Rules") which empowered the government to identify "fake news" on social media platforms through a "Fact Check Unit" (FCU). The amendment in 2023 allowed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to appoint a FCU.

The Amended Rules of 2023

As a result the MeitY issued a Gazette notification on March 20, 2024 notifying the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as the Fact Check Unit of Central Government. The said notification was made under the provisions of Rule 3 (1) (b) (v) of the Amended Rules that requires removal of content that is identified as fake or false or misleading by the FCU.

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