Lok Sabha Question No. 2977 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-08-03
Subject: Misleading News
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Uday Pratap Singh, Vivek Narayan Shejwalkar, Kaushalendra Kumar, Satyadev Pachauri, Dinesh Chandra Yadav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2977

TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.08.2022

## MISLEADING NEWS

## 2977.   SHRI UDAY PRATAP SINGH: SHRI VIVEK NARAYAN SHEJWALKAR: SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR: SHRI SATYADEV PACHAURI: SHRI DINESH CHANDRA YADAV:

Will the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology be pleased to state:

- (a) the steps taken by the Government to curb misleading news, messages, hateful material and advertisements being spread through fake accounts on social media during the last three years and the current year;
- (b)    whether  the  Government  has  set  up  or  proposes  to  set  up  any  system/make  law  for prosecuting  criminal  cases  against  the  persons  responsible  for  spreading  hatred,  doing frauds and spreading fake news through social media;
- (c)   if so, the details thereof;
- (d)    the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  in  regard  to  objectionable content  being spread on every small or big platform and social media; and
- (e)  if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

(a): Government's objectives are aimed at ensuring Open, Safe & Trusted and Accountable internet  for  its  users.  Government  has  taken  several  steps  to  address  the  challenges  of misinformation via various online media platforms including social media. These, inter alia , include:

- (i) Government has notified the  Information  Technology (Intermediary Guidelines  and Digital Media  Ethics Code)  Rules, 2021  ('IT Rules, 2021')  under  the Information Technology Act (IT Act), 2000. They are required to inform their users not to host, display, upload, modify,  publish, transmit, update or share  any information that is harmful, objectionable and unlawful in any way or is patently false and untrue. They are also required to remove any unlawful content violative of any law, as and when brought to their knowledge either through a court order or through a notice by appropriate government or its agency.The Rules also require that publishers of news shall observe the Code of Ethics.

(ii) Under section 69A of the IT Act, Government blocks any information in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with  foreign  states  or  public  order  or  for  preventing  incitement  to  the  commission  of  any cognizable offence relating to above.

(iii)  A  Fact  Check  Unit  has  been  setup  under  Press  Information  Bureau  of  Ministry  of Information  and  Broadcasting.  The  Unit  responds  to  the  relevant  queries  /  suspected  news pertaining to Central Government by labeling it appropriately on its social media handles and its own website.

(b)  and  (c): Ministry of  Home Affairs (MHA) operates a National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal  (www.cybercrime.gov.in)    to  enable  citizens  to  report  complaints  pertaining  to  all types  of  cyber  crimes.  States/UTs  are  primarily  responsible  for  the  prevention,  detection, investigation  and  prosecution  of  crimes  through  their  Law  Enforcement  Agencies  (LEAs). The Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) at Centre and States take appropriate legal action as per provisions of law and when appropriate.

(d) and (e): The IT Act, 2000 provides for a criminal penalty for publishing or transmitting objectionable  content  including  obscene  and  sexually  explicit  content.The  IT  Rules,  2021 also have provisions to deal with such user harms/ menace. As per provisions of rule 3(2)(b), the intermediary shall remove any such objectionable content against women within twentyfour hours from the receipt of complaint made by the impacted individual or any person on her  behalf.  The  Law  Enforcement  Agencies  (LEAs)  at  Centre  and  States  take  appropriate legal  action  as  per  provisions  of  law  and  when  appropriate  and  request  intermediaries including social media intermediaries to remove content violative of any law.

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