Lok Sabha Question No. 3638 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-22
Subject: Fake Online Information
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Karti P. Chidambaram

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3638

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 22.3.2023

## FAKE ONLINE INFORMATION

## 3638.   SHRI KARTI P. CHIDAMBARAM:

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

- (a) the details of stakeholder consultations held to classify online information as fake or false by  Press  Information  Bureau  (PIB)  or  any  other  Government  agency  as  per  proposed amendments to IT Rules, 2021 dated 17.01.2023;
- (b) the factors that will be considered to classify online information as fake by PIB/Government agency;
- (c) the independent oversight mechanism put in place to review information classified as fake by PIB/ Government agency;
- (d) whether the creators of the information identified as fake will be provided a notice and copy of order blocking the content, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (e) the process by which a person or an intermediary can challenge the notice identifying the information as fake; and
- (f) the number of URLs, social media handles and websites that have been identified as fake by PIB/Government agency since 2019 to present, year-wise?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e): The policies of the Government are aimed at ensuring an Open, Safe and Trusted and Accountable Internet for its users. With the expansion of the Internet and more and more Indians  coming  online,  the  number  of  Indians  exposed  to  patently  false  and  untrue  or misleading information available on the Internet has also grown and representing the harms.

With  a  view  to  strengthen  the  due  diligence  by  intermediaries  under  the  Information Technology  (Intermediary  Guidelines  and  Digital  Media  Ethics  Code)  Rules,  2021  ('IT Rules'),  the  Ministry  of  Electronics  and  Information  Technology  has  published  the  draft amendment to the IT Rules for inviting feedback from the stakeholders and also conducted a consultation with intermediaries on extending such due diligence to also include information identified as fake or false by the fact check unit atPress Information Bureau (PIB) or other agency authorised by the Central Government for fact checking.

To help achieve the aim at ensuring an Open, Safe and Trusted and Accountable Internet for its users, the Central Government,  in  exercise  of  its  powers  under  the  Information Technology  Act,  2000,  has  made  the  IT  Rules.  These  rules  cast  specific  obligations  on intermediaries, including social media intermediaries and significant social media intermediaries ( i.e., a social media intermediary having more than 50 lakh registered users in India),  to  observe  due  diligence  while  discharging  its  duties.  In  case  of  failure  to  follow diligence as provided in the rules, an intermediary, they are not exempt from liability for any third-party information, data or communication link made available by them and are liable for the  same  as  per  law.  Such  diligence  includes  the  making  of  reasonable  efforts  by  the intermediary  to  cause  its  users  not  to  host,  display,  upload,  publish,  transmit  or  store information which knowingly or intentionally communicates any misinformation, or which is patently false and untrue or misleading in nature. The non-hosting of such information is by way  of  diligence  on  a  reasonable  effort  basis  by  the  intermediary  itself;  the  rules  do  not envisage issuance of any order to block the same. The rules further provide that a significant social media  intermediary  shall, prior to removing  or  disabling  access to  any  such information, provide the user who has created, uploaded, shared, disseminated or modified it with a notification explaining the action being taken and the grounds or reasons for the same and provide such user with adequate and reasonable opportunity to dispute such action and request  for  reinstatement  of  access  to  such  information,  which  may  be  decided  within  a reasonable time; in addition, they provide that the intermediary shall ensure that its Grievance Officer  maintains  appropriate  oversight  over  the  mechanism  for  resolution  of  any  such dispute.

Further, a Fact Check Unit was set up in November 2019under the PIB under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The unit takes cognizance of fake news, both suomotu and by way  of  queries  sent  by  citizens,  and,  in  respect  of  information  pertaining  to  the  Central Government,  responds  to  the  same  with  correct  information  while  identifying  fake  or misleading information as such.

- (f): As per information furnished by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, since its inception, the PIB has countered over 37,000 complaints and has busted 1,160 cases of fake news on @PIBFactCheck social media handles, year-wise details of which are as under:

| Year   | Number of fake news busted on @PIBFactCheck social media handles   |
|--------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2019   | 17                                                                 |
| 2020   | 394                                                                |
| 2021   | 285                                                                |
| 2022   | 338                                                                |
| 2023   | 126*                                                               |
| Total  | 1,160                                                              |

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