Expressing concern over mushrooming of fake news, a parliamentary panel has asked the government to explore legal provisions to counter the menace.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, suggested the government use the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence to check the “menace” in real-time.
Observing that ‘fake news’ has become a “disturbing trend in India,” the panel in its 27th report on ‘Ethical Standards in Media Coverage’ tabled in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, suggested the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) develop some legal provisions to counter it.
The report said the committee endorses the views of the CEO of Prasar Bharati that “the regulatory mechanisms should look at embracing latest technologies such as artificial intelligence to check fake news and to be able to intervene in near real-time”.
Fact check units
The panel appreciated the establishment of fact check units in 17 regional offices of the Press Information Bureau (PIB).
The committee also said countries like Australia and Malaysia have anti-fake news laws.
The panel report noted that there already exist laws and rules under the Indian Penal Code, the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011, to tackle and penalise persons spreading ‘fake news’.
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