Aishwarya Rathore –
Published on: September 1, 2021, at 13:39 IST
The Central Government has stated in an affidavit filed before the Delhi High Court that the IT Rules (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) 2021, which were issued earlier this year for the regulation of online news and social media platforms, do not stifle the Right to free speech in the Country.
The Centre, in its counter affidavit filed on a challenge to the Constitutional validity of the new IT Rules, has submitted that although the right to freedom of speech and expression, including the freedom of the press, is critical for a dynamic democracy like India and citizens cannot be treated as passive consumers.
The Centre asserted, “Digital media allows sensational information to be re-circulated in a different context, resulting in misinterpretation and making it susceptible to being used as fake news.”
The IT Rules aim to prevent the abuse of freedom of the press by providing audiences with a mechanism to express their concerns about the content published by digital news publishers through a Grievance Redressal Mechanism, with a focus on self-regulatory architecture for digital news publishers and thus fulfil the objective of the Information Technology Act.
The High Court had earlier issued notifications to the Centre, requesting responses to petitions filed by the Foundation for Independent Journalism, The Wire, Quint Digital Media Ltd, and Pravda Media Foundation.
The Pleas sought striking down of the specific part of the IT Rules on the ground that it violates Article 19 (1) (a) and 19 (1) (g) of the Indian Constitution by chilling media freedom, Article 14 of the Constitution by creating an unreasonable classification and by establishing a parallel adjudicatory mechanism to be overseen by executive officials, and is ultra vires the IT Act.