IT Rules likely to be amended to curb fake news and defamation

The government is likely to amend the Information Technology (IT) Rules of 2021 to add provisions that ban the dissemination of digital content that contains “obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false, suggestive innuendos, or half-truths,” sources said.

- AASHISH ARYAN

These amendments are likely to be made under Part 3 of the IT Rules. They have proposed that digital content should not contain anything that is against good taste or decency, derides any race, caste, colour, creed, or nationality, tends to incite people to commit crime, engage in violence or glorifies violence.

Part 3 of the IT Rules covers content shown to users through digital video intermediaries such as YouTube and Instagram, as well as over-the-top (OTP) video sharing platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and SonyLIV, among others. These rules also apply to the digital portals of news channels and newspapers.