14 hours ago
Express View on Karnataka's draft bill on fake news: Don't make it law
Several elements go into making legislation 'bad in law': Vague provisions and definitions that invite misuse; arrogation of power to government authorities without necessary checks and guardrails; difficulties of enforcement or possibilities of selective enforcement and, most importantly, legitimate concerns about infringement on fundamental rights and violation of due process. The Karnataka Mis-Information and Fake News (Prohibition) Bill fulfils these criteria, and more. It constitutes an 'Authority' — headed by the state Information & Broadcasting Minister and made up mostly of lawmakers and officials selected by the government — that is all but certain to act as a censor. It is a bill of bad faith — it enables an exercise of arbitrary power under the garb of rooting out falsehood. It is an overzealous government addressing a complex issue through the bluntest of instruments.
India has approximately 700 million smartphone users, and Karnataka is among the states with the highest internet penetration. Can the proposed Authority mine and analyse the vast amounts of data on social media while ensuring that no citizen's right to free speech is violated? More importantly, even if it could, should it? 'Fake news' is defined by the Bill as false or inaccurate reporting, editing that distorts facts and purely fabricated content. Misinformation is 'knowingly' or 'recklessly' spreading falsehoods, with exceptions for religious sermons, satire, and 'artistic expression'. Evidently, the government of Karnataka, not satisfied with setting itself up as the arbiter of Truth, seeks to define Art as well. It also wishes to prosecute what it deems as going against 'feminism' and 'Sanatan Dharma'. The Bill compounds the sin of loosely worded and vague provisions with harsh punishment: Offenders face fines up to Rs 10 lakh, seven years' imprisonment or both. It flies in the face of the letter and spirit of the Supreme Court's judgment in the Shreya Singhal (2013) case and the Bombay High Court verdict on the Centre's IT Rules in 2024, both of which warned against the dangers of ill-defined legal provisions encroaching on free speech.
India already has laws on defamation and for protecting 'hurt sentiments', which are often weaponised by governments to curb fundamental freedoms. Karnataka's capital is a hub of innovation, and of a start-up culture that has the potential to propel the state's and the country's economy forward. The government must recognise that innovation and censorship do not go together. Fifty years after the Emergency, the lesson on the dangers of state excess and overreach should have been internalised by Congress governments, including in Karnataka. As Justice Gautam Patel noted in the Bombay HC's 2024 verdict, 'Every attempt to whittle down a fundamental right must be resisted root and branch.' Misinformation and fake news are indeed problems of the present and future. Addressing them requires digital literacy, which involves going to schools to ensure that the next generation is equipped to sift fact from falsehood. Such programmes require finesse, time and the right intent. Not a draconian law — the Bill needs to be binned.
