Latest news with #KarnatakaBill
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
If the draft fake news Bill is the cure for misinformation, Karnataka may have to ban irony next
Written by Meghna Bal The Karnataka legislature recently released the Karnataka Mis-information and Fake News (Prohibition) Bill, 2025. Broadly, the Bill attempts to criminalise the spread of fake news and misinformation within Karnataka. The mechanism for enforcing this prohibition is a 'fake news on social media regulatory authority' comprising the Minister for Kannada and Culture, members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and council, representatives of social media platforms, and an IAS officer. If any social media users are found guilty by this authority of spreading fake news, they could be imprisoned for up to seven years. The sweeping provisions of the Karnataka Bill have sparked concern about its potential chilling effect on free speech. The Bill defines 'misinformation' as any willful or reckless false or inaccurate expression of a statement of fact. The definition also excludes 'opinions, religious or philosophical sermons, satire, comedy or parody or any other form of artistic expression', provided a 'reasonable man' would not misconstrue it as a statement of fact. A reasonable man (or person) is a hypothetical individual whose behaviour and level of care in any given situation are judged according to commonly accepted standards of good judgement and societal norms. In the context of speech, the standard is typically used in cases regarding defamation or harassment, as a means of objectively understanding whether any given speech qualifies as an offending one. Yet, 'reasonableness' is an inherently vague and subjective standard, one that shifts with socio-cultural expectations. In the context of the Karnataka fake news Bill, the reasonableness standard will also possibly be informed by politics, given that half the members of the regulatory authority, including its head, are politicians. In effect, by hinging exemptions on whether a 'reasonable man' might misinterpret them as fact, the Bill leaves all expression vulnerable to being labelled fake news. It creates a potent risk for satire as people (even reasonable ones) are often fooled into believing it is true. In 2012, the satirical news website The Onion released a story stating that North Korea's Kim Jong Un was the 'Sexiest Man Alive' for that year. The story was taken seriously by China's People's Daily Online, the digital version of the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, which reprinted it in full as a legitimate event. The Onion went on to claim, in jest, that the People's Daily was their subsidiary. Under the Karnataka Bill, The Onion's story as well as its subsequent joke could be treated as an offense. Fortunately, the Karnataka fake news Bill is not even remotely constitutionally tenable. There is a wealth of constitutional precedent surrounding false information and what can and cannot be policed in its name. The courts are clear on the fact that restrictions on speech must be clear, narrowly tailored, and fall within the permissible bounds on speech, recognised under Article 19(2) of the Constitution. These include grounds like sovereignty, national security, diplomatic relations, public order, morality, decency, contempt of court, defamation, or the incitement of an offense. In Kaushal Kishor vs State of Uttar Pradesh, the Supreme Court held that these restrictions were comprehensive enough to account for any attack on an individual, groups, society, the judiciary, the state or the country. And it was not open to the state to add to these restrictions. Thus, speech cannot be restricted purely on the grounds that it is fake. In addition, any law seeking to restrict speech must be proportional. The test of proportionality ensures that there are sufficient guardrails in place to keep any restriction on a fundamental right from overstepping its bounds. Here again, the Karnataka Bill fails because it opens many forms of speech up to subjective attacks from the state. The Karnataka fake news Bill is an egregious document, not only for its constitutional failings but also the clumsy way it has been put together. Part of its Statement of Objects and Reasons, which is a part of a law that sets out the rationale for why the Bill is needed, was borrowed verbatim from the Prohibition of Fake News on Social Media Bill, 2022. Indeed, the borrowing was so faithful that even the title of the 2022 Bill was copy-pasted without correction. Adding insult to injury is the fact that it also attempts to open opinion up to scrutiny, which, at its very essence, is meant to be separate from statements of fact. The whole exercise makes a mockery of the pressing problem created by the spread of malicious falsities that are wrecking the fabric of human society, not only in India, but across the world. The problem of fake news is complex. No law offers a silver bullet, especially because any law targeting speech can be weaponised. It demands thoughtful consideration and a focus on evidence-based solutions that have been shown to protect the public from the harmful effects of deliberate misinformation. Most of all, however, it requires leaders to cast expedience aside in favour of principle. That said, if the Karnataka government believes that its fake news Bill is the cure for misinformation, it may have to ban irony next. The writer is the director of the Esya Centre, a tech policy focussed think tank based in New Delhi. Views are personal
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Indian state proposes seven-year jail term for spreading ‘fake news'
A southern Indian state is working on legislation to tackle the spread of 'fake news' by imposing jail terms of up to seven years, a move that could collide with free speech rights. A draft bill prepared by the government in Karnataka, the country's information technology hub, seeks to punish anyone posting 'fake news', 'anti-feminist' content or 'promoting superstition' with imprisonment and fines. India has long been plagued by the problem of fake news. Indeed, misinformation, particularly online, has been blamed for inciting religious polarisation and even deadly sectarian strife in a country with over a billion internet users. Although the federal government has, contentiously, put in place some measures, backed by legislation, to regulate social media content, Karnataka has become the first state to enact its own measures to tackle the fake news 'menace'. The draft Karnataka Misinformation and Fake News Prohibition Bill doesn't define the misinformation offences it aims to punish but provides for special courts and regulatory committees to implement the legislation. According to state officials defending the draft bill, fake news is a menace plaguing news dissemination, causing conflicts and inflaming an already communally sensitive atmosphere, and so punishing people spreading fake news does not interfere with the rights of those speaking facts. Karnataka registered 259 cases over the sharing and broadcasting of fake news on news or social media between 2023 and March this year, the state home department said. Only six of the cases resulted in conviction and penalties, however. Hello @apar1984,As I mentioned a few days ago, there appears to be some misunderstanding around the proposed misinformation sole objective is to address the growing digital information disorder. Our focus is strictly on tackling misinformation, disinformation,… — Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) June 29, 2025 The Indian government has over the years accused tech giants like Google and Meta of being slow in removing 'fake news' posts. In 2019, it set up a "Fact Check Unit" within the information and broadcasting ministry to refute what it would label misinformation and fake news. It routinely sends legal demands for social media platforms to take down content and block accounts wholesale. In the wake of a military confrontation with Pakistan in May, New Delhi had platforms like X block thousands of accounts in the country. 'There's a clear distinction between what's a fact and what's not a fact. Somewhere in the last 10 years, a huge chunk of the population has lost the ability to discern the difference between an opinion and a news report. An opinion need not be true,' Lavanya Ballal Jain, a spokesperson for the Congress party, which heads the Karnataka government, said, defending the bill. She said Karnataka had witnessed many incidents of community disharmony due to social media posts that weren't factual. 'In coastal Karnataka, where fake news is rampant, we are not seeing just one or two incidents but multiple incidents which have prompted us to take this step,' she told The Independent. The government understood the 'difference between freedom of speech and unbridled freedom to say whatever you want to say', she said when asked whether the proposed law would interfere with freedom of speech. 'The sole objective is to address the growing digital information disorder. Our focus is strictly on tackling misinformation, disinformation, malinformation, and fake news, and nothing beyond that,' the state's minister for information technology, Priyank Kharge, said. But Apar Gupta, founder of the digital advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation, cautioned that such legislation could have far-reaching impact, including on constitutional rights. "Misinformation is fairly subjective and every person who uses the internet is susceptible to falling within the dragnet of this law," Mr Gupta told Reuters. Assuring the draft bill wasn't a tool to be weaponised, the Congress party spokesperson said the state intended to crack down on fake news and deep fakes like in the rest of the world. 'It is actually a little too late in the day for India to wake up and form or frame laws for this because we have been seeing deepfake AI videos and everything on the spectrum. The world is changing,' she said.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Indian state proposes seven-year jail term for spreading ‘fake news'
A southern Indian state is working on legislation to tackle the spread of 'fake news' by imposing jail terms of up to seven years, a move that could collide with free speech rights. A draft bill prepared by the government in Karnataka, the country's information technology hub, seeks to punish anyone posting 'fake news', 'anti-feminist' content or 'promoting superstition' with imprisonment and fines. India has long been plagued by the problem of fake news. Indeed, misinformation, particularly online, has been blamed for inciting religious polarisation and even deadly sectarian strife in a country with over a billion internet users. Although the federal government has, contentiously, put in place some measures, backed by legislation, to regulate social media content, Karnataka has become the first state to enact its own measures to tackle the fake news 'menace'. The draft Karnataka Misinformation and Fake News Prohibition Bill doesn't define the misinformation offences it aims to punish but provides for special courts and regulatory committees to implement the legislation. According to state officials defending the draft bill, fake news is a menace plaguing news dissemination, causing conflicts and inflaming an already communally sensitive atmosphere, and so punishing people spreading fake news does not interfere with the rights of those speaking facts. Karnataka registered 259 cases over the sharing and broadcasting of fake news on news or social media between 2023 and March this year, the state home department said. Only six of the cases resulted in conviction and penalties, however. The Indian government has over the years accused tech giants like Google and Meta of being slow in removing 'fake news' posts. In 2019, it set up a "Fact Check Unit" within the information and broadcasting ministry to refute what it would label misinformation and fake news. It routinely sends legal demands for social media platforms to take down content and block accounts wholesale. In the wake of a military confrontation with Pakistan in May, New Delhi had platforms like X block thousands of accounts in the country. 'There's a clear distinction between what's a fact and what's not a fact. Somewhere in the last 10 years, a huge chunk of the population has lost the ability to discern the difference between an opinion and a news report. An opinion need not be true,' Lavanya Ballal Jain, a spokesperson for the Congress party, which heads the Karnataka government, said, defending the bill. She said Karnataka had witnessed many incidents of community disharmony due to social media posts that weren't factual. 'In coastal Karnataka, where fake news is rampant, we are not seeing just one or two incidents but multiple incidents which have prompted us to take this step,' she told The Independent. The government understood the 'difference between freedom of speech and unbridled freedom to say whatever you want to say', she said when asked whether the proposed law would interfere with freedom of speech. 'The sole objective is to address the growing digital information disorder. Our focus is strictly on tackling misinformation, disinformation, malinformation, and fake news, and nothing beyond that,' the state's minister for information technology, Priyank Kharge, said. But Apar Gupta, founder of the digital advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation, cautioned that such legislation could have far-reaching impact, including on constitutional rights. "Misinformation is fairly subjective and every person who uses the internet is susceptible to falling within the dragnet of this law," Mr Gupta told Reuters. Assuring the draft bill wasn't a tool to be weaponised, the Congress party spokesperson said the state intended to crack down on fake news and deep fakes like in the rest of the world. 'It is actually a little too late in the day for India to wake up and form or frame laws for this because we have been seeing deepfake AI videos and everything on the spectrum. The world is changing,' she said.
