Press freedom

3 mn readIndia amended its IT law on 6th April and prohibited Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms from publishing or sharing any false information concerning any business of the administration and are said to rely on New Delhi’s own fact check unit for authenticity and credibility. Digital rights group, Internet Freedom Foundation in its statement said, ‘The notification of these amended rules cement the chilling effect on the fundamental right to speech and expression, particularly on news publishers, journalists, activists, etc. The fact check unit could effectively issue a takedown order to social media platforms and even other intermediaries across the internet stack, potentially bypassing the process statutorily prescribed under the Section 69A of the IT Act 2000’.