Draft fake news law needs wider consultation: Karnataka IT Minister

Bengaluru: The draft law on fake news and misinformation is likely to undergo revisions as “wider consultations are needed” within the government, Karnataka's Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge hinted.

The draft of the Karnataka Misinformation and Fake news (Prohibition) Act says that social media users posting fake news would face up to seven years imprisonment and a maximum fine of Rs 10 lakh.

As per the draft, the government will set up a Fake News on Social Media Regulatory Authority and a special court to try offences, which will be cognisable and non-bailable. Not obeying the special court's directions would attract up to two years imprisonment and a daily fine of Rs 25,000.

This draft has been prepared by the law department.

"Wider consultations are needed with the departments of information technology and home. That's because a few of the provisions come under the Information Technology Act," Priyank told DH. "So, the law minister will have wider consultations with the related departments," he added.

Priyank has been anchoring the government's effort to fight fake news and misinformation. The government has already set up the Information Disorder Tackling Unit (IDTU), a fact-checking exercise that ran a 90-day trial through its website satya.karnataka.gov.in during the Lok Sabha polls last year.

In October last year, the government formed a high-level committee chaired by Home Minister G Parameshwara to institutionalise a fact-check mechanism. Priyank is co-chairing the committee.

According to sources, Priyank's department had provided inputs to the draft law to fight fake news and misinformation. However, the law department's version of the draft was not discussed with him.

In the current draft, the Fake News on Social Media Regulatory Authority will be headed by the minister for Kannada & Culture. "We don't know where the Kannada & Culture department came from in the context of fake news," a government source said, adding that it should be either the IT/BT Minister or the Home Minister at the helm of an anti-fake news mechanism.

The current draft has already caused alarm among proponents of free speech. Digital rights advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) asked the government to reconsider the draft.

"Just like UAPA and TADA, Congress is on its path to create yet another draconian law," Pratik Sinha, co-founder of fact-checking site Alt News, said about the draft law.