Lok Sabha Question No. 1099 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-22
Subject: Fake News
Ministry: INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
Asked by: E. T. Mohammed Basheer

FAKE NEWS

## 1099.  SHRI E. T. MOHAMMED BASHEER:

## Will the Minister of INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it has come to the notice of the Government that fake news is causing misinformation and damage to the individual concerned as well as the country; and
- (b) if so, the steps Government proposes to take in this regard?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE; MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING; AND MINISTER OF HEAVY INDUSTRIES AND PUBLIC ENTERPRISES [SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR]

(a) to (b): The Press council of India (PCI) has framed 'Norms of Journalistic Conduct' for adherence by the media of publishing news which is accurate and fair. The PCI also has an institutional mechanism for redressing any complaints received by it, in accordance with the Press Council (Procedure for Inquiry) Regulations, 1979, and enables  it  to  warn,  admonish  or  censure  a  newspaper,  news  agency,  editor  or journalist, etc.

With regard to electronic media, the Cable Television Network (Regulations) Act, 1995 and Rules made there under inter alia provide that no program shall be carried  out  which  contains  anything  obscene,  defamatory,  deliberate,  false  and suggesting innuendoes and half truths. Monitoring is done through a system of self-

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1099

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.11.2019

regulation by the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) and the National Broadcasting Association (NBA) and the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF). The NBA has also formulated a Code of Ethics in broadcasting standards. The NBSA has issued an advisory dated 12.05.2016  to  its  members  that  manufacturing,  drawing,  tailoring,  and  tutoring  or creating any kind of false or fake news or an attempt to do so will be considered as a serious misconduct on the part of the broadcaster.

The Electronic Media Monitoring Centre (EMMC) of the Ministry monitors the content of private TV channels with reference to violation to programme codes. An Inter-Ministerial  Committee  (IMC)  in  the  Government  looks  at  specific  complaints regarding violation of Programme Codes by private TV channels and recommends appropriate action in cases of violation of the programme codes. Furthermore, there is  provision  under  Information  Technology  Act,  2000,  administered  by  Ministry  of Electronics & Information Technology, for removal of objectionable online content for regulation of content on social media. Also the  Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2011 under section 79 of the IT Act requires that the Intermediaries shall observe due diligence while discharging their duties and shall inform the users of computer resources not to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, update or share any information that is harmful, objectionable, affect minors and unlawful in any way.  On case to case basis, social media platform are approached for removal of specific objectionable content coming to the notice of Government.

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