The Bombay High Court has ruled the central government's fact check unit (FCU) unconstitutional, citing violations of fundamental rights
The FCU's vague definitions of "fake" or "misleading" news could have a chilling effect on free speech, equating it with censorship
The FCU was established under amended IT Rules, 2021, requiring social media to take down news deemed fake by the FCU to maintain legal immunity
Petitions by Kunal Kamra, the Editor's Guild of India, and others successfully challenged the FCU, reinforcing the right to freedom of speech
Despite the verdict, media scrutiny is likely to continue. It's critical for the media to maintain high fact-checking standards to prevent future control efforts
Media outlets should adopt a gold standard of verifying facts with at least two independent sources, ensuring credibility