Karnataka's fake news bill: Rs 10 lakh fine, 7-year jail for disrespecting sanatan symbols, promoting superstition
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The state government's draft proposal—the Karnataka Misinformation and Fake News (Prohibition) Bill, 2025—placed before the cabinet last week, has raised concern among stakeholders. According to the bill, the government looks to criminalise and punish those who spread misinformation. The draft bill says that companies and social media platforms may also be held liable for fake news shared through their networks.Under the draft bill, social media users found guilty can face two to five years in jail. If one posts fake news on social media platforms, they can be imprisoned for up to seven years and fined up to Rs 10 lakh. Abetment of such offences will also attract a two-year jail term, the 11-page draft read.The draft includes formulating a state 'fake news regulatory authority' tasked with a broad mandate to monitor and regulate the content disseminated on social media platforms. 'Prohibit publication of content amounting to disrespect of Sanatan symbols and beliefs on social media platforms. Prohibit publication of content promoting superstition,' the draft bill accessed by ET read.Government's takePriyank Kharge, state IT-BT minister, told ET that the document is an opinion of a few individuals in the law department and will be thoroughly discussed by the home and IT departments before moving forward.Defending the Congress government's move, Kharge said, "We are not deciding whether it is misinformation or fake news. We are getting professionals to do that. We would love it if even the Editors Guild of India or the Press Council of India, or anybody else, wants to be a part of it."He added that the government is not trying to change any policy. 'We're just trying to connect the dots that already exist and make a bill out of it."The minister emphasised that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that misinformation creates havoc and is a threat to democracy.The new authority's core functions would include ensuring a complete ban on the spread of fake news. It also talks about content that is abusive, obscene, anti-feminist, or insulting to the dignity of women. The new body will have the power to recommend punitive action under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, against individuals or entities found guilty.When asked if the government would support such a bill at a central level, Kharge, referring to the Broadcast and Digital Bill, said, "We are not doing anything like tampering with the IT Act. We are merely categorising any public interest information as true or false. And we are tracking it up with reasons why we think it is false.
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