Editors Guild welcomes HC verdict quashing amended IT Rules on fake news

The Editors Guild of India on Friday welcomed the Bombay High Court verdict striking down as unconstitutional the Information Technology Amendment Rules of 2023 on the formation of fact-check units by the government.

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules sought to empower the Central government to form a Fact-Check Unit to identify "fake and misleading" information on social media platforms about its business.

The Guild had moved the Bombay High Court in June last year, challenging the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the IT Amendment Rules of 2023.
 

It had raised its concerns in its statement in April last year, stating that amendments to the IT Rules will have deep adverse implications for press freedom in the country.

The Bombay High Court, while observing that the amended rules infringed the right to equality and freedom of speech, also said the rules being vague and broad could cause a "chilling effect" not only on an individual but also on social media intermediaries.

The ruling was passed by Justice A S Chandurkar who served as a 'tie-breaker judge' after a division bench in January 2024 delivered a split verdict.