Centre defends fact-check unit, says right to correct information important

Sub: Polity

Sec: Constitution

Context:

Defending the formation of a fact-checking unit (FCU), the Union government said in the Bombay High Court on July 24 that the right to know factually correct information and the right to not be misled were equally important as the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a).

What is a Fact Check Unit?

The provisions for the Fact Check Unit was introduced through Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023.
Rules required significant social media intermediaries (SSMIs) (such as Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and Online Gaming Intermediary to inform their users to not ‘host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store any information which is ‘identified as fake or false or misleading by a fact check unit of the Central Government’ in respect of any business of the Central Government.
The MeitY is empowered to notify the fact check unit of the central government to identify fake, false, or misleading information about any central government business.
In cases where information has been flagged as false or misleading, intermediaries are expected to take down the content.
This implies that the union government now possesses the authority to remove any information it considers false.

Why is FCU challenged in the Bombay high court?

The proposed introduction of the FCU has raised concerns among internet freedom activists and therefore challenged in the Bombay high court.
Petitioner argued that the amendment enables the government to be the “prosecutor, the judge, and in that loose sense, the executioner” of what constitutes the ‘truth’ online, thereby violating the cardinal principles of natural justice.
They also pointed out that the “overbroad and vague” nature of the rules created a “chilling effect” on the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

What is the Government’s stand?

Government argues that the right to be informed correctly is necessarily inherent under Article 21.
Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, for the Union government, said the FCU would prevent people from false information.
Since many private companies and individuals also maintain fact-checking units and the government is similarly justified in providing accurate information to the public.
Government has told the court that the Right to know factually correct information and the Right to not be misled were equally important as the Right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a).