The Government of India mandates fact-checking of online content on official matters.

In India, the government-run agency will now monitor and fact-check government-related matters on social media, even though tech giants raised serious concerns about it last year.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT wrote in a gazette notification on Wednesday that it is converting into law its proposal last year about making the fact-checking unit of the Press Information Bureau a dedicated arbiter of truth for New Delhi cases.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-clause (v) of clause (b) of sub-rule (1) of rule 3 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the Central Government hereby And the Fact Checking Unit under the Press Information Bureau of the Ministry of Broadcasting is notified as the Fact Checking Unit of the Central Government for the purposes of the said sub-section in relation to any business of the Central Government. Said.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting established the fact-checking unit of the Press Bureau of India in 2019 with the aim of eliminating misinformation about government matters. However, the entity has been criticized for misleading information important to the government.

Relying on a government agency such as the Press Information Bureau as the sole source for fact-checking government functioning without clearly defining it or providing clear checks and balances “may lead to abuses during the implementation of the law, which would deeply depress the press.” Will violate.” Freedom,” the Asia Internet Alliance, an industry group that represents Meta, Amazon, Google and Apple, warned last year.

This is a developing story. More to follow.