Key Points
Kunal Kamra, a stand-up comedian, has moved the Supreme Court of India seeking an interim stay on the fact-checking unit (FCU) under the recently amended Information Technology (IT) Rules 2023..
Earlier the Bombay High Court had refused to grant an interim stay onsetting up of the fact-checking unit under the 2023 Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules (IT Amendment Rules 2023)...
On April 6, 2023, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government promulgated certain amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, including a provision for an FCU to flag fake, false or misleading online content related to the government"..
Under the IT Rules, if the FCU comes across or is informed about any posts that are fake, false, and contain misleading facts about the business of the government, it would flag off the same to social media intermediaries..
Kunal Kamra said that any information identified as "fake, false or misleading" by the FCU would be taken down by the intermediary in order to avoid the risk of potential legal liability..
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