The new IT Rules require platforms to remove content related to "any business" of the government deemed to be "fake or false or misleading" by a fact-checking agency of the government.
This statement was originally published on ipi.media on 17 April 2023.
New laws empower government with sweeping online censorship powers
The IPI global network strongly condemns the Indian government’s decision to pass the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules 2023, which grants the government broad powers to censor online news and information. The Modi government must stop expanding its control over the media through the use of draconian laws that undermine fundamental freedom of expression and access to information rights.
The new rules, which came into force on April 6, require platforms to remove content related to “any business” of the government deemed to be “fake or false or misleading” by a fact-checking agency of the government, according to Scroll.in. Social online platforms, e-commerce sites, internet service providers, and search engines are required to comply with the content takedown orders within 36 hours or are at risk of losing safe harbor protection in India.
“This is just the latest move by the Modi government to silence journalists and independent media by restricting any coverage that could be deemed critical of its policies,” IPI Director of Advocacy Amy Brouillette said. “In a democracy, governments must be able to withstand public scrutiny. We encourage online platforms to push back against every government demand to delete content in order to ensure they are not complicit in the government’s attempts to restrict free speech.”
The IT Amendment Rules 2023 build upon the IT Rules 2021, which are often deployed to punish and restrict any criticism of India’s ruling government. Since the nationalist conservative Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014, the government has passed a series of draconian laws to silence journalists and attack press freedom in India.
