Indian editors protest the government's decision to regulate online journalism
The plan by the government to regulate news on social media through a self-appointed fact-checking unit has The Editors Guild of India extremely alarmed, the trade association said on Friday, calling the new regulations draconian and resembling censorship.
According to the updated IT regulations for the nation, platforms must "not publish, share or host fictitious, inaccurate or misleading information" regarding the executive branch.
The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has engaged in several legal battles with social media companies after they disregarded requests for the removal of content or user accounts that were allegedly propagating false information.
The fact-checking unit will be established by the federal government, which announced its appointment on Thursday. The Editors Guild of India, however, has concerns about the unit's governance structure, its broad authority in identifying fake news, and the right to appeal in such circumstances.
The organisation declared in a statement that everything was "contrary to the principles of natural justice" and was equivalent to censorship.
Thus, it is regretful that the ministry informed the public of such strict regulations. The guild requests once more that the ministry remove this announcement and confer with press organisations.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India's state minister for IT, assured reporters on Thursday that the fact checks would be conducted in a genuine manner and allayed worries that the revisions would result in censorship.
Undefined terminology in the amendment, like "fake," "false," and "misleading," according to the digital rights organisation Internet Freedom Foundation, make them open to abuse by authorities.

Comments
Post a Comment