Centre to Bombay HC on plea challenging IT Rules amendment says misleading info has potential to fan separatist movements

False and misleading information has the potential to fan separatist movements and intensify social and political conflict, the Central government told Bombay High Court while responding to stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra’s petition challenging an amendment to the Information Technology Rules.

Citing a study, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), further said false news travelled six times faster than the truth, necessitating the 2023 amendment to the IT Rules.

It, however, said that the impending fact check unit may only direct removal of false or misleading information pertaining to government policies and programmes, and not any satire or artist impression.

Kamra, in his petition, claimed that the new rules could potentially lead to his content being arbitrarily blocked or his social media accounts being suspended or deactivated, thus harming him professionally.

The stand-up comedian has sought the court to declare the amended rules as unconstitutional and a direction to the government to restrain from taking action against any individual under the rules.

The ministry, in its affidavit, reiterated that the role of the fact check unit is restricted to any business of the Central government, which may include information about policies, programmes, notifications, rules, regulations, implementation thereof, etc.

False and misleading information can adversely impact electoral democracy, the economy and the social fabric in many ways, with severe and lasting damage, the ministry claimed.

It has the potential to fan separatist movements and intensify social and political conflict, while also weakening public trust in democratic institutions. In matters of public interest, misleading content on social media platforms influences citizens’ perceptions regarding reality and creates doubts regarding the actions and intentions of the democratically elected government, it said.

It cited a study, which concluded that falsehoods are 70 per cent more likely to be retweeted on Twitter than the truth, and false news reached 1,500 people about six times faster than the truth.