‘Now, govt to decide…’: Kapil Sibal on amended IT Rules

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal slammed the Centre on Saturday amid the controversy over its notification to fact-check fake news and have them taken down. Sibal took to Twitter and alleged that “now PIB will decide what is fake and what is not".

"Online Platforms: Now PIB will decide what is fake and what is not and notify it. Now Government to decide what is fake and what is not! And Amit Shah ji says democracy is not in danger!" Sibal tweeted.

However, Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar had clarified on Friday that the rules notified do not mention “PIB Fact Check”.

"The rules do not at all suggest that it's going to be PIB Fact Check. I think some of the grey area, or indeed the misapprehension, comes from the fact that the original draft of the rule that went for consultation talked about PIB Fact check. The rules that were notified yesterday (Thursday) do not mention PIB Fact Check," Chandrashekhar told news agency ANI on Friday.

"So we have yet to take a decision on whether it will be a new organization that has trust and credibility associated with it, or do we take an old organisation and repurpose it to build trust and credibility in terms of a fact-checking mission," the minister added.

The PIB on several occasions has sought to rebut media reporting with its fact-check. When the first version of the rules was released, experts said it fell afoul of Article 19(2) of the Constitution, which deals with reasonable restrictions on free speech.

The Centre had issued notifications regarding amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 on Thursday.

"These fake, false or misleading information will be identified by the notified Fact Check Unit of the Central Government. it is to be noted that the existing IT rules already required the intermediaries to make reasonable efforts to not host, publish or share any information which is patently false and untrue or misleading in nature," the IT ministry said in a press release earlier.

(With inputs from agencies)