Withdraw ‘draconian’ amendments to IT Rules: Editors Guild

The Editors Guild of India on Friday said it was “deeply disturbed” by the “draconian” amendments to the Information Technology Rules that gave the government “absolute power” to determine fake news.

In a statement here, the Guild urged the government to withdraw the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules and hold consultations with media organisations and press bodies, as it had promised earlier.

The Guild said as per the rules, the IT Ministry has given itself the power to constitute a “fact checking unit”, which will have sweeping powers to determine what is “fake or false or misleading”, with respect to “any business of the Central Government.”