00:00 After the Centre's notification of the Fact-Checking Unit under the PIB, the Supreme Court of India
00:08 today intervened, putting a pause on the implementation.
00:11 The bench, comprising of Chief Justice of India D.V.
00:14 Chandrachud, Justice J.B.
00:15 Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra, underscored the significance of the matter regarding the
00:20 freedom of expression but also refrained from commenting on its merits.
00:25 The controversy unfolded when the stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, with the Editor's Guild
00:29 of India, petitioned the Bombay High Court to restrain the Centre from activating the
00:34 Fact-Checking Unit.
00:35 The unit was introduced as part of its commitment to the Information Technology Intermediatory
00:40 Guidelines and the Digital Media Ethics Code Rules 2021.
00:44 According to these rules, the Fact-Checking Unit will identify and flag any content deemed
00:49 fake or misleading about the government's activities on social media platforms.
00:53 However, the petitioners expressed apprehensions about the potential censorship, arguing that
00:58 the new rules can stifle free expression on social media.
01:01 They even raised concerns that the social media intermediaries might hastily remove
01:06 flagged content to avoid the legal repercussion, thus curbing users' ability to freely express
01:12 themselves.
01:13 Kamra even contested the new IT rules, asserting that they infringe upon his right to work
01:18 as a political satirist.
01:19 He fears losing access to social media platforms if his content gets flagged by the Fact-Checking
01:24 Unit.
01:25 Additionally, concerns were also raised about the vague definition of business of the central
01:29 government, prompting questions about the scope of the Fact-Checking Unit authority.
01:34 Meanwhile, the Centre defended these rules as necessary measures to combat the fake news.
01:38 It even assured the Fact-Checking decision will be evidence-based and subject to judicial
01:43 review too.
01:44 The Centre also clarified that the unit's focus is strictly on government affairs and
01:48 not on public opinion satire or comedy.
01:50 The legal battle escalated when the Bombay High Court declined to stay the implementation
01:54 of the Fact-Checking Unit, citing no imminent loss.
01:57 However, concerns persist among petitioners about the potential targeting of the fagged
02:02 discourse and satire under the guise of fact-checking.
02:05 The battle then reached Supreme Court after the petitioners sought relief from the High
02:09 Court's decision.
02:10 And now, this decision has come, which is staying the Centre's decision to establish
02:16 a legal Fact-Checking Unit.
02:18 As the legal battle unfolds, the outcome will have, indeed, far-reaching implications and
02:22 consequences for online discourse and governance transparency in India.
02:33 [BLANK_AUDIO]
