New Delhi: Central Government files affidavit at Delhi High Court supporting the newly instated IT Rules pointing at past incidents when spread of disinformation led to disturbance of public order. Government stated that fake and misleading audio/visual news on digital media have led to deaths of innocent people as laws to regulate such content were absent, thus making it mandatory to have a regulatory system.
The petitions against the new IT Rules have been filed by The Quint, Pravda Media Foundation which publishes Alt News and The Wire. The Madras High Court too is conducting hearing on a similar petition filed by a larger congregation of publishing houses under the aegis of Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA).
Media outlets in their petition against the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries And Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021) claimed as they maintain the rules are intended to gain power over press. Besides, the rules are trying to curb the freedom of the press by giving the government pervasive control over news content.
The media outlets also argued that the new IT Rules “virtually dictate” content to news portals and are thus violation of Article 14 and 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. They argued that upon a complaint, the State has the power to enter and control news and views by way of deletion, modification or blocking, censure, compelled apology, and more.
The Centre, in its counter-affidavit, argued that “The provision for directions to the publisher regarding deletion/modification of content is in the interest of transparency, and allows the publishers to challenge such orders before the courts of law, thereby acting as a further safeguard in the interest of freedom of speech”.
While submitting that there have been “past incidents of disinformation on digital media leading to disturbance of public order”, the Centre has asserted that digital media “allows sensational content being re-circulated in a different context leading to misinterpretation by the audience” making it susceptible to being used as fake news.
“With easy access to a smartphone, cheap internet data and a social media account, users not only share stories which directly impacts them but also shape the views and opinions of democratic discourse. Individuals or groups can use digital media with very low barriers of entry or regulation to disseminate false, sensationalist or misleading news over the internet, which can then be rapidly transmitted among the people,” the affidavit states.
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