Lok Sabha Question No. 781 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-25
Subject: Supervision of Social Media Platforms
Ministry: INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
Asked by: Beesetti  Venkata Satyavathi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.781

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.07.2023

## SUPERVISION OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS 781.  DR BEESETTI VENKATA SATYAVATHI:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  set  up  organisations  to  weed  out  fake information and fact- check reports;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether the Government is planning to cooperate with the social media platforms and  establish  a  regulatory  agency  to  supervise  the  operation  of  social  media platforms  and  make  them  accountable  for  the  material  that  is  posted  on  their platforms; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (d) The Government has statutory and institutional mechanisms in place to combat fake news, including the following:
- i) A  Fact  Check  Unit  has  been  set  up  under  Press  Information Bureau  under  the  Ministry  of  Information  and  Broadcasting  in November, 2019 which takes cognizance of fake news relating to the Central Government both suo-motu and by way of queries sent by citizens on its portal or through e-mail and social media. The  Unit  responds  to  the  relevant  queries  with  correct  and updated information related to the policies, schemes, guidelines,
- initiatives, etc of the Government of India.
- ii) For Print Media, Press  Council of India (PCI), a statutory autonomous body set up under the Press Council Act, 1978, has framed  'Norms  of  Journalistic  Conduct'  for  adherence  by  the media.  These  norms  provide  for  'accuracy  and  fairness,  prepublications verification, distinction between conjecture, speculation, comment and fact avoiding sensational/ provocative headings  and  justification  for  the  matter  printed  under  them, etc'.

In  case  of  violation  of  Norms,  Press  Council  of  India  under the provisions of Section 14 of the Act, after holding an inquiry, may  warn,  admonish  or  censure  the  newspaper,  the  news agency, the editor or the journalist or disapprove the conduct of the editor or the journalists as the case may be.

- iii) For electronic media, all TV Channels are required to adhere to the  Programme  Code  under  the  Cable  Television  Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, including that programmes broadcast by them should not contain anything obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half-truths;
- iv) For  digital  media,  the  Government  has  notified  the  Information Technology  (Intermediary  Guidelines  and  Digital  Media  Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 under the IT Act, 2000 on 25 th  February, 2021, which  inter  alia  provide  for  due  diligence  to  be  observed  by intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, and for a Code of Ethics to be adhered to by the publishers of news and current affairs on digital media and OTT platforms. These rules also  provide  for  a  three  tier  grievance  redressal  mechanism  to look into complaints related to violation of Code of Ethics.

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