New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India (EGI), the apex body of editors, has raised concerns over a proposed amendment by the government. EGI has issued a statement expressing its concern regarding the new Digital Media Guidelines issued by the Central Government. The amendment will ensure that all media intermediaries including social media platforms do not allow any content identified as “false” by the Fact Check Unit of the Information Bureau. Explain that the Union Ministry of Electronics and IT had introduced the proposed amendment in the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Code of Conduct) Rules, 2021 on Tuesday. It has been tweeted by the Media Association on Wednesday i.e. January 18, 2023. In this the Editors Guild of India wrote that “EGI is very concerned with the amendment in IT Rules 2021 made by MeitY. It empowers the PIB to ensure the veracity of news reports, and to remove content deemed ‘fake’ on online platforms and social media platforms. The Guild feels this is tantamount to censorship. This “fundamentally affects news publishers working on the Internet. At the same time, it will also reduce media freedom in the country.”
According to the Editors Guild of India, the determination of fake news cannot be in the hands of the government alone. This would result in censorship of the press. EGI has said that there are already several laws in place to deal with content found to be factually incorrect. This new process will end the freedom of the press. The IT Ministry has added these changes on Tuesday. The amendment was uploaded on the website of the Ministry on January 17, 2023. The Editors Guild of India is concerned about the amendments made by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MEITY) to the Information Technology Regulation Rules, 2021. The amendments empower the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to determine the veracity of news reports. In such a situation, any such content which is called fake has to be removed from online platforms including social media platforms.
By Shehnaz Ali
