Context: Government of India has recently notified Fact Check Unit (FCU) under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) as the fact check unit of the Central Government.
Background:
- In 2023, MEiTY promulgated the 2023 rules amending IT rules 2021, allowing the government to constitute a Fact Checking Unit (FCU) under IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code), Amendment 2023.
- New rules require Social Media intermediaries to censor or modify the content relating to “business of Central government” if the FCU directs them to do so.
- FCU will have power to decide whether the content on social media is fake, false, or misleading.
- Once content is identified as fake or misleading, intermediaries must take action or lose “safe harbor” protection under I.T. Act, 2000.
Need for creation of Fact Check Unit
- The Fact Check Unit under PIB was established in November 2019 with a stated objective of acting as a deterrent to creators and disseminators of fake news and misinformation.
- It also provides people with an easy avenue to report suspicious and questionable information pertaining to the Government of India.
- Furthermore, a legal framework for regulating the online gaming eco-system was also needed.
- The FCU is mandated to counter misinformation on Government policies, initiatives, and schemes either Suo motu or under a reference via complaints.
- The FCU will actively monitor, detects, and counter disinformation campaigns, ensuring that false information about the Government is promptly exposed and corrected.
About Fact Check Unit
- The fact checking process is based on the FACT model – Find, Assess, Create and Target.
- Find: The PIB Fact Check Unit takes Suo Moto cognizance on Fact Checking as well as receives queries on WhatsApp Hotline, email, web portal and from Ministries/Departments.
- Assess: The Unit segregates the received information after ascertaining whether it falls within the ambit of Fact Check Unit.
- Create: The relevant queries are researched using various fact checking tools and verified through open-source information available only on Government websites, notices, circulars, documents, and e-gazettes.
- Target: After verifying the authenticity of the information from the authorized sources, the Fact Check Unit creates & posts the fact checks on its social media platforms viz Twitter, Facebook, Koo, Instagram, and Telegram.
- Ensuring accuracy: The unit will take a call on whether online information related to the Central Government is accurate.
- Power to label content: The body will have the authority to label content related to the government on online platforms like Facebook and Twitter as “fake” or “misleading”.
- Content flagged by the unit will have to be taken down if they wish to retain their ‘safe harbour,’ which is legal immunity they enjoy against third-party content.
- Social media sites will have to take down such posts, and internet service providers will have to block URLs of such content.
Composition and Organization: The PIB Fact Check Unit is headed by a senior DG/ADG level officer of the Indian Information Service (IIS). The day-to-day operations of the Unit are handled by IIS officers at various levels. The Unit reports to the Principal Director General, PIB who functions as the Principal Spokesperson of the Government of India.
Present Status:
- The Supreme Court has stayed the operation of the amended Information technology (IT) rules till a three-judge bench of Bombay High Court decides upon it.
- The Supreme Court observed that the challenge to the rules raises "serious constitutional questions". The impact of IT Rule as amended on the fundamental rights of citizens to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) and right to practice any profession under Article 19(1)(g) would fall for analysis by the Bombay High Court.