On April 06, 2023, the Union Government notified amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“IT Amendment Rules, 2023”). The IT Amendment Rules, 2023 mainly regulate online gaming as well as fact checking of “false”, “fake” or “misleading” information related to the Union Government. Among the various amendments, the most alarming one provides for the establishment of a fact check unit (“FCU”), established at the sole discretion of the Union government, aimed at fact checking online information related to the Union government. In this Public Brief on the IT Amendment Rules, 2023, we highlight the significant changes introduced with the notified amendments and analyse the hits and misses.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://internetfreedom.in/public-brief-it-amendment-rules-2023/