Government of India policy to fact-check content declared unconstitutional by court

In a blow to the Government of India the Bombay High Court on Friday declared the amended Information Technology (IT) Rules unconstitutional. These rules granted the government authority to identify “fake news” on social media platforms via a “Fact Check Unit” (FCU).

The Union Ministry of Electronics and IT established the FCU on March 20 as a statutory body under the Press Information Bureau, with the mandate to flag content deemed false regarding the central government and its agencies on social media.