Bombay HC Strikes Down Centre's Bid To Establish Fact-Checking Unit

In a setback to central government, the Bombay High Court on Friday struck down the Centre’s attempt to set up a fact-checking unit after standup comic Kunal Kamra filed a petition against the move.

Citing it as an ‘unconstitutional’ move, the High Court struck down the amended Information Technology (IT) Rules which sought to identify fake and false content on social media against the government.

On April 6, 2023, the Union government promulgated amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, including a provision for an FCU to flag fake, false or misleading online content related to the government.