Lok Sabha Question No. 1490 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-07
Subject: Violence due to Fake News
Ministry: INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
Asked by: Dr. T. Sumathy (a) Thamizhachi Thangapandian, Janardan Singh Sigriwal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1490 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.12.2021

## VIOLENCE DUE TO FAKE NEWS

1490.  DR. T. SUMATHY (a) THAMIZHACHI THANGAPANDIAN : SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL :

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

- a) whether the Government is aware of the number of violence and suicides cases due to fake news being spread through electronic and other social media network, if so, the details thereof;
- b) the measures taken/being taken by the Government to prevent the spread of such fake news, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- c) whether  the  measures  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  present  the spread  of  fake  news  include  active  participation  by  the  youth,  if  so,  the  details thereof;
- d) the action proposed to be taken by the Government against such culprits who is disturbing the peace and social harmony in the country; and
- e) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  bring  in  a  legislation  to  control  such malicious activities and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING; AND MINISTER OF YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS (SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR)

(a) 'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects as per Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibilities of maintaining law and order, including  investigation,  registration/  prosecution  of  crimes,  conviction  of accused,  protection  of life and  property  etc. rests primarily with the respective State Governments. Ministry of Home Affairs has issued advisories to States and UTs, from time to time, to maintain law and order and ensure that any person who takes law into his/her own hand is punished promptly as per law.

(b)  &  (c)  Government  has  statutory  and  institutional  mechanisms  in place to prevent spread of fake news, including the following:

A  Fact  Check  Unit  (FCU)  has  been  set  up  under  Press  Information Bureau (PIB) in November, 2019 which takes cognizance of fake news both suo-motu and by way of queries sent by citizens on its portal or through email  and  social  media.  FCU  maintains  a  presence  across  prominent  social media platforms like  Twitter,  Facebook,  Instagram,  Telegram  and  Koo,  the primary audience of which are the youth.

The  FCU  responds  to  the  relevant  queries  with  correct  and  updated information.  PIB Fact Check Unit has responded to 28,578 actionable queries till date.

For  Print  Media,  Press  Council  of  India  has  framed  'Norms  of Journalistic  Conduct'  under  the  Press  Council  Act,  1978  which  inter alia emphasize the principles of accuracy and fairness.

For Television, all TV  Channels  are required to adhere to the Programme  Code  under  the  Cable  Television  Networks  (Regulation)  Act, 1995,  including  that  programmes  should  not  contain  anything  obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half-truths.

For digital news publishers, the Government has notified the Information  Technology  (Intermediary  Guidelines  and  Digital  Media  Ethics

Code) Rules, 2021 under the IT Act, 2000 on 25th February, 2021, which inter alia provides for a Code of Ethics for adherence by digital news publishers.

Ministry  of  Electronics  and  Information  Technology  (MeitY) through a program, namely, Information Security Education & Awareness (ISEA), has been creating awareness among users highlighting the importance of following the ethics while using Internet and advising them not to share rumors/fake news. A dedicated website for  information security awareness (https://www.infosecawareness.in) provides  all  the  relevant  awareness  material.  MeitY  also  publishes advisories to curb false news / misinformation.

(d)  &  (e)  The  Government  takes  action  in  appropriate  cases  where violation of the Codes are found.   It also issues advisory from time to time to the media to adhere to the laid down Codes.

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